To Play
by Resident Fruit Knife
Summary: Japan was desperate. Strange for a nation now rising as a super power, but finally the 7000 year old war had caught up to him. His people were dying and thus, he made a plea with the rest of the nations. Save his people.
1. Introduction

**And so it begins, this story. I thought it would make an interesting crossover, so I'm trying my hand at it. Can't tell where it'll go though. xD...**

**Well, it is 19th century period, one of my most favorite times of history to research, so this should be fun! I hope you guys will also enjoy. :D  
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**I really don't mean to offend anyone though this fic either, please don't take any offense. ._. Also, this is going to be as historically accurate as I can make it while adding in the situation of DGM. I'm also including the 14th, Kanda's past, the latest on DGM. So spoilers beware! (Human names are used as well.)  
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**Disclaimer: I lay no claim on DGM or Hetalia.  
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**Let us watch well our beginnings, and results will manage themselves. - Alexander Clark **

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Arthur Kirkland messed with his tie briefly, his eyes slightly narrowed. In his left hand, he held a telegram from Honda Kiku, in his right his tie that was still crooked even after he messed with it. He sighed, exasperated, wondering how Francis managed to stay so flamboyantly dressed.

Leaving his tie alone for a few seconds, he opened the latest telegram again, scanning over the contents.

_"The situation grows desperate. I make a plea with the other nations to help my people or we will cease to exist." _

His eyebrows knotted together as he sighed, folding the paper again.

The year was 1880, towards the end of the nineteenth century. Arthur, having helped Kiku before with revolutionizing his land in general, felt a little bond with the once hikikomori nation. He had sent a telegram to most of the other nations, some calls as well, and most had responded positively.

Alfred for example, even though it had only been fifteen years after his own civil war, had jumped to the task, proclaiming that he the hero would help save Kiku.

Wang Yao, Kiku's older brother, had been especially adamant on helping his younger brother, even after what had happened over the past few decades. Their younger brother Im Yong-soo wasn't as much until his older sister Min-ji **(1)** had protested, saying that they had to help one of family.

Arthur held a little envy towards the Asian part of the world. They were still somewhat a family.

He shook his head as he made his way to the front of the church, or what he hoped was the church. There was one more place he had to visit and the last thing he wanted on his mind was…

He glanced up through the foggy air as he stuck his arm out, fingers brushing against the cold stone as he took a few steps back. "This must be it," he called as one fairy dressed in blue dropped down into view while examining the building.

"Yep!" she cheered as he smiled, knocking on the door.

Before he could get a word out, the huge face's eyes opened wide, staring at him. "Who are you?" it asked as Arthur quirked up an eyebrow at the strange choice of design.

"I am Sir Arthur Kirkland, representative of England and her Majesty. I have business with the head of the Black Order," he replied as the huge head ran a quick scan over him then proclaimed him clean. As it did, the doors opened inward, allowing Arthur a glance at Headquarters.

He knew about the Black Order, most of the countries did in fact. They usually left them alone to their own devices though instead of getting involved.

Arthur walked through the doors while running through the scenario in his head again.

Kiku, from the somewhat spastic messages he had sent to him, was in trouble by devils wearing human skin. The people there were almost wiped out but some still stood strong which gave Kiku the will to still fight.

_Which is why I'm here, _he thought, while entering through the building. _To try to enlist these people to fight with us. _

"Ah, hello! You're the guest right?" A girl with shortened hair asked as he entered through the main hallway. "Please wait here a moment, my older brother will be out in a bit."

He heard a clamoring and shouting for someone to get up. Then a loud 'boom' noise echoed through the room as he raised one bushy eyebrow in curiosity. The girl, who had ushered him in, flushed red. "Brother…" she groaned, racing inward and leaving Arthur by himself inside a clean room.

"Ah, sorry about that!" A man's voice called as Arthur jerked from his thoughts and looked up. A black haired man had walked in, a smudge on his face and his white jacket tossed on haphazardly. His secretary looked obviously disgruntled at the sight of the man and chose to take a few steps backwards from the smoke that was coming from his jacket. "There's not many people who know about us so we were a bit surprised when you were allowed access."

Arthur snorted gently. "Of course…" he mumbled as the man continued to talk.

"Arthur Kirkland? I'm Komui Li, the Head Supervisor of the Black Order. What business do you have with us?"

"Japan," Arthur immediately responded, his eyes narrowed. "I have here a telegram from a friend there." He pulled out the sheet of paper and slid it forward. "I am almost entitled to help him and since you are the foremost experts…"

"…Some of our own team had been in Japan only to be almost completely annihilated," Komui replied, his own eyes narrowing while reading the paper.

"Almost," Arthur pointed out as Komui tightened his fists.

"What gives you the right to demand for me to give up some of the kids in here to fight for some man that we don't even know?"

Arthur sighed mentally before facing Komui, his eyes matching the Head Supervisor's own purple ones. "I know it sounds crazy, believe me, but Kiku is important to the world. He's needed."

Komui rubbed his temples, thinking for a second. To return the exorcists back to the Akuma infested land…would it work? Allen would have access to the ark still there once they had a chance to settle down…

"Of course," Arthur butted in, a slight smirk on his face. "You'll have backup." He sat back in his seat, still smirking. "There's no way I would risk people just for myself."

Komui watched him warily before nodding. "We are fighting a war and this would be a good chance to strike at mutual enemies," he agreed as Arthur's hopes picked up slightly.

"Alright, then we'll get this cleared out of the way and you can meet the team. Reever! Get a sheet of whoever's not on duty!"

A few minutes later, Arthur was escorted to meet the team who were headed to Japan.

A boy with white hair glanced up at the stranger standing in the middle of the hallway as he pushed himself off the chair he had been balancing on, walking up to him.

Arthur felt a jolt up his spine then realized that this boy was one of his own people. Looking at him with a fresh eye, he could feel his consciousness drifting with his other people.

_Allen Walker…_

"You're Arthur Kirkland right?" Allen began with a smile, holding out his right arm. "I'm Allen Walker and will be traveling with you to Japan."

"A pleasure Mr. Walker," Arthur replied smoothly, shaking his hand. A red head then immediately tackled the boy from behind, asking him whom he was talking to. Allen managed to shove the boy off him, his cheeks flushed from embarrassment while telling him Arthur's name.

"This is Lavi," Allen introduced with a scowl in Lavi's direction. "He's coming along with us too." Arthur stuck out his hand for the boy to shake as Lavi did, grinning. "Pleasure to meet you Arthur."

From there, Arthur met Kanda Yu, a Japanese native who had an extremely foul tongue, though he couldn't really say anything, and Lenalee Li, the Chinese girl he had met before.

Kanda had scowled, sheathing Mugen, his blade. "Who the hell is this Kiku anyway and why the fuck are we helping him?"

Before Arthur could snap a response, Lenalee whacked him on the head lightly. "Kanda, that's no way to speak to an ally," she lectured as Lavi laughed, shaking his head. "Lenalee, leave him alone, it's just how Yu is."

"THAT'S KANDA TO YOU, STUPID ASSHOLE OF A RABBIT!"

They would be the Black Order's team.

The three teenagers made short time in packing a few clothes inside a small suitcase before meeting Arthur at the train station near the headquarters.

"Excuse my question," Lenalee began almost timidly as the five boarded the train. "But where are we going?"

"We're going to America," Arthur replied as the girl's eyes widened slightly, nodding her thanks as the redhead glanced at Arthur curiously.

"So why are we going to America?" he asked as Arthur settled himself in his seat.

"There are some people I need to meet. We're not going to Japan alone," he answered, closing his eyes as Lavi nodded, a small frown on his face.

As he joined the other three, he sat down, thumbing through his little booklet he kept random notes in. "What's wrong Lavi?" Allen asked while Kanda snorted, grumbling to himself about stupid missions.

"I've seen that man's face before but I can't quite place it," the Junior Bookman replied with a small frown, keeping his voice quiet.

"He did introduce himself as a representative of England and the Queen," Allen mused as Lenalee nodded, watching her three friends as Lavi snorted good naturally.

"No Moyashi," he replied with a wide grin as Allen glared at him for using his hated nickname. "I mean I've seen him in history books that Bookman makes me read when I don't have missions." He rubbed his head with almost frustration.

"Maybe he's important or something. Lavi, what the hell's your point?" Kanda spat out as the Bookman Junior held up his hands defensively.

"My point is," he said quickly to avoid Mugen aimed at his head. "I don't think he's telling us the entire story." He snorted, rolling his eyes. "Then again who does?"

"We can't exactly confront him," Lenalee pointed out as Allen nodded. "Though I'm sure he would tell us in the long run."

Ever the positive Lenalee.

"Then we'll just be more cautious," Kanda finally said, his eyes narrowed as Lavi grinned, closing his book with a 'fwap'. "That we should Yu!"

"God DAMN it Lavi, how many-!"

"That's ENOUGH both of you!"

Allen sighed, glancing out the window, his eyes half closed from the swaying of the train. As he did, he began to doze off, his thoughts wandering from the fourteenth to this new situation of returning to Japan.

He wondered what would happen there. _Probably nothing good if Akuma were concerned_, he noted wryly before succumbing to sleep finally.

It would be a long trip.

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**(1): I'm one of those people who think that Yong-soo had a twin before they split, so she's in here. **

**So, here we go!  
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	2. Battles

**Cheered on by various kind reviewers (ILOVEYOUGUYS), here is the second chapter! **

**Uh...yeah, this isn't as good, but yeah! I hope you guys enjoy! **

**Also, a note, I honestly don't know much about England...but I researched a bit, and well, Liverpool seemed awesome so, here it is. It was mentioned in DGM too so...yeah. *shotforlameexcuse*  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own DGM/Hetalia.  
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**The most important of life's battles is the one we fight daily in the silent chambers of the soul. - David O. Mckay **

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_Help us!_

_You can see us can't you? HELP US!_

"…Get up already, damned Moyashi!"

"Allen! Allen! Please wake up!"

"C'mon Moyashi! That blast couldn't have done that much damage on you!"

"Here-! I'll wake him up!"

A stinging wave of pain washed over Allen as he jolted up, promptly whacking heads with Arthur. The English man bit back a string of curses as he winced, holding his head. Stammering an apology, Allen glanced around his surroundings, swiveling his gaze back and forth quickly.

His pentacle eye caught sight of two masses, two souls, no not even a soul. He narrowed his eyes. It must be a level four...

The train car had a huge hole, as if ripped aside by claws, and most of the passengers in this car were dead. The wind whipped past his face as he winced, holding an arm over his eyes.

"What happened?" he asked as Lenalee gave him a brief hug. "One Level three and one level four," she replied, as he nodded, those words confirming what he saw. She still held his shoulders tightly, as if he might disappear. "They blew up the train, looking for us."

Screams echoed through the air as Allen winced again, holding his hand over his left eye. "Then we should get out of here," he said, standing to his feet as Kanda snorted with contempt.

"We would have done that if you had woken up any earlier Moyashi," he grumbled as Allen fumed.

"BaKanda," he muttered as Kanda heard this and pulled out Mugen, a visible vein throbbing in his temple.

"Do you want to die?"

"You two, this is no time for fighting," Lenalee said, pushing the two apart. "Let's just get out of here okay?"

Arthur had poked his head outside while the two were bickering and it wasn't long before he realized that they would have to jump in order to even have a fair battlefield. It wasn't far from Liverpool anyway, they would just have to jump from that end bridge point, hopefully land on the grass and not the river edge and hopefully not on the stone near that river edge.

He could have sworn he was growing older even as he thought of this.

"We have to jump!" he yelled over the wind as the clawing grew closer. "It's the only way we can have a fair battle!"

"When do we jump?" Kanda shouted back as Arthur glanced out again. His eyes widened, the grass growing closer as they spoke. He braced himself against the train wall then turned his head, eyes narrowed.

"NOW!"

The other three jolted to their feet as Lenalee activated her dark boots to balance herself. The other two boys followed suit to soften their fall as Kanda jumped anyway, disregarding his safety.

It was as if they had timed everything almost perfectly. The Akuma had reached their car again and destroyed it while the five escaped and landed, thankfully, on the grass.

Allen found himself sprawled on the grass as the Akuma spun around wildly. "Where are they?!" The Level three yelled as the Level four cuffed it on the head.

"Idiot, they obviously jumped out. Dammit, I can't believe I didn't catch them when we destroyed that care the first time!" it said as Arthur pulled out a handgun stashed in his belt.

"Then let's find them! I'm itching for a fight!" The level three shrieked while the Level four glanced around, spotting Kanda and Arthur standing up in the grass.

"You get the guy with the sword, I'll get the bushy eyebrowed one!" it yelled as Arthur twitched madly, eyes narrowed.

"You know, now that I realize it, your eyebrows are pretty bushy-! Crap! Why the hell did you shoot at me?!"

"Don't insult my eyebrows!" Arthur snapped angrily as Lavi held up his hands in defense.

"Sorry!"

As the Level four grew closer, Arthur aimed briefly and shot rapidly, emptying his rounds. "Hah! You're only human! Your gun wouldn't hurt me!" it crowed as Arthur smirked, reloading his gun.

"I wouldn't bet on that."

_There are some advantages of being a country,_ he thought with a widening smirk, watching as the Akuma hissed, holding its arm tightly, innocence sparks playing around wounds. _One is the fact that I have more fighting experience than most people imagine and another is the fact that there was innocence integrated within my land and my people which enables me to be able to fight Akuma._

He paused mid-thought, cut off by the Akuma's shrill scream as Allen raced through the air, Crown Clown flashing in the air. With a loud yell, he slashed through the Level four as Lenalee arrived behind, kicking the Akuma with the full force of her Dark Boots.

Lavi spun his hammer, now enlarged before slamming it into the Level three. The Level three grabbed it, hand biting into the innocence that sparked wildly in its hand as Lavi smirked.

"Fire Seal, Configuration of Ash!" he roared as the stamp formed on the Akuma's hand, literally blasting the head with flames. The Akuma shrieked, backing off only to be stabbed from behind by Kanda who had his Double Illusion Blades activated.

"We haven't fought for so long that we can't take care of you," Lavi commented dryly, shaking his head as he retracted his hammer. "After all, a Level four is nothing compared to you."

"Shut up Lavi and fight!" Kanda yelled over the din of battle as Lavi nodded, slamming his hammer once more on the Akuma's head.

After the invasion of Headquarters and being moved nearer to London, Lavi found himself being pitted more and more against Level four. It was as the first Level Four had said, that there were more powerful than just a Level four.

Thankfully, it hadn't come true to that extent, but it was true that the exorcists were battling mainly Level three and four these days. It came to the point where a Level three almost felt like a level two, level two was a walk in the park, and a level one wasn't even worth mentioning.

Lavi raced forward as Allen lifted Crown Clown again. Sending an energy arc its way, it struck the Level four in the back, throwing it backwards to meet Arthur's rapid gunfire.

The Level four lifted its now machine gun weaponry, screaming. "Damn you exorcists!"

Kanda swept in, his eyes narrowed while activating his Sangenshiki. "Bakuhakuzan!" he yelled, slashing through the Akuma's arm. It was a nick, considering that the Akuma had managed to shoot Kanda in the arm but spread through the Akuma and blew off its arm neatly.

"Everyone move!" Lenalee yelled as she spun, flying through the air. Allen stabbed down with Crown Clown, mimicking the move that destroyed the first level four then she crashed down, the full force of her Dark Boots behind her.

"DAMN YOU EXORCISTS!" it shrieked one more time before glaring at Arthur. "And YOU-! How DARE-!"

Arthur, without pausing, shot it in the forehead, his eyes narrowed.

Finally, the five were able to relax as Kanda ignored all protests of resting and healed his wound, glaring at all who tried to protest about that. It was then Lavi decided to ask a question to Arthur who had put away his pistol, now looking for the church that Allen said would be on the next turn.

"Hey, Caterpillar," he called as Arthur twitched madly, glaring at him.

"Ignore that," Allen called, noticing the English man's rage. "He gives nicknames to everyone."

"Yes, I realize that," Arthur grounded out, reigning in his temper. "But could he not tease my eyebrows?"

"Well I call Moyashi, Moyashi because he_ is_ a bean sprout and you're Caterpillar because of your eyebrows! It makes sense!" While Allen whacked him in between the shoulders, Lavi shook his head, berating himself inwardly for going off topic. "Anyway, about what that Akuma said…" he started as Arthur stared at him, no emotion flickering through his eyes.

"If you think I am in correlation with the Earl, please reconsider those thoughts," he finally said, noticing the others waiting for his answer. "I want nothing more then to see him finally disposed of." He tightened his fists, staring at them. "I have too much on the line to want to work with him."

Flashes of his colonies that…depended upon him, others such as Kiku, even Alfred flashed through his head as he gritted his teeth unconsciously.

This war could not be lost.

Lavi glanced at him before laughing awkwardly, breaking the silence. "Hey, Caterpillar! You don't need to be so serious!" he called while storing the information in his mental bookshelf for pondering on later.

"Would you KINDLY stop calling me Caterpillar already?"

"You two, the church is right here!" Lenalee called, waving towards the tiny church near the town side. "Allen went ahead to start the ark!"

As the two arrived where the Priest was waiting with Allen, the boy waved the four over. "The gate's set up, all we have to do is go over."

Arthur looked suspicious as he looked over the boy's shoulder. "This…thing can?"

He had heard of the Ark, Kiku had told him once, of a black cube that had once floated above the ruins of Edo. That didn't mean that he wanted to go in such a thing.

"Yeah, we use this to travel around the world." Allen frowned, shaking his head. "Though, there isn't one in Japan."

Arthur smiled wryly at that, shaking his head. "Of course, that would be too easy wouldn't it?"

Stepping through the ark, Arthur felt a tingling along his spine as he instinctively took a deep breath, eyes shut.

Hearing a bit of laughter, he opened his eyes slightly to see Lenalee giggling. "We're here already," she said as he blinked then flushed red from embarrassment.

"R-Right."

To his surprise, they WERE there. He could feel it and could feel that he wasn't in England anymore.

"Well, that was quick," he said with wide eyes as Allen nodded.

"I'm still amazed at how quickly I travel in the ark."

Kanda glanced at Arthur with annoyance. "Where are we going?"

Arthur managed to regain some composure, nodding. "Right, this way. We're going to New York."

He hoped that Alfred wouldn't make a big fuss.

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**Thank you for reviewing again and I hope you enjoy~!**


	3. Meetings

**Alive and well my lovely readers! I seriously *heart* you guys. To no end. I wouldn't update if not for you. :D **

**This is just mainly talking BUT ALFRED MADE IT. XD**

**(Edit: I realized there are horrible mistakes in here, such as misspelling the American Supervisor's name. 8D; I hope they're fixed and everyone enjoys~!)  
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**Disclaimer: I no own Hetalia/DGM. Do I look that awesome to you?  
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_**Meetings are indispensable when you don't want to do anything. - John Kenneth Galbraith **

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"Allen Walker is it?" A voice called out as the five exited the ark. Allen glanced up at the woman walking towards him, her lips smiling but her eyes cold. "Komui sent me word that you were coming." She glanced at Arthur who held out his hand, meaning to introduce himself.

"Arthur Kirk-!"

"IGGY!"

A brown and gold blur tackled Arthur into the ark as the British man spluttered something unintelligible. He felt his back land against the floor then his vision spun for a few seconds.

"…Y…You bloody git…" he growled as the boy around seventeen sat up, pulling Arthur up to his feet.

"C'mon, that's what you say to me? We haven't seen each other in awhile!" Alfred F. Jones said with a pout as Arthur rolled his eyes.

"It's not as if I came for you anyway," he spoke haughtily, shaking his head. "The exorcists from the Black Order...Oi, are you even paying attention?"

Alfred had began to wander around, his eyes lit with glee, as a child would be in a candy store. "So this is the Ark huh Eng-!" Alfred found a hand clamped over his mouth, Arthur glaring at him.

"Shut up! I thought you knew better then that!" he snapped as Alfred tried to laugh through the hand covering his mouth.

"Right," he mumbled, his answer somewhat muffled as Arthur released his grip on the boy. "But seriously, this is the Ark? How awesome! So if I were to open this door here," he motioned to the door that Arthur and the others had just gone through. "Then I would be at your house?"

"My home yes, but can we get out now? I need to introduce you."

Outside, the woman looked amused, glancing at the surprised exorcists. Well, three surprised and one more annoyed than anything really. "I was about to tell Mr. Kirkland that his friend had come to see him, but he took the words," she chuckled lightly, shaking her head, "Quite literally out of my mouth."

Turning his attention back to the woman, Allen glanced towards the Ark then back at the woman. "Supervisor Epsteine right?" he asked as she nodded. "Who exactly is he?"

Her eyebrow quirked upwards, surprise in her features. "Mr. Kirkland didn't explain the situation to you?" she asked as Lenalee shook her head.

"Besides us going to Japan, no," she replied as the American woman sighed, about to explain when Alfred burst through the Ark, a wide grin on his face.

"I can explain Renee!" he called as she smiled slightly, allowing the boy to speak. "My name's Alfred F. Jones at your service! I'll be going along with you to Japan!"

"Tch," Kanda scowled. "Another annoying idiot."

For once, Arthur had to agree with the foul mouth boy as Alfred began energetically explaining, his way, on who were coming and how they would get there, and bugging Allen to let him try the ark once.

"See, we're going to go to Canada next, my little brother is there, Matthew Williams. From there we're going to…where was that place again Arthur?"

Arthur, confused on who Canada was for a brief second, shook his head and answered his question with a biting tone. "It's called get a _MAP_ Alfred. And we're going to go…to Russia, for Ivan." Lavi noticed the English man suppressing a shudder as Alfred bobbed his head.

"What about Germany? I thought Ludwig was coming."

"What about him?"

"I thought he was coming." The American sounded remotely disappointed, a surprise to the English man who decided to ask him later about it.

"He has his problems to deal with and apologizes. In any case, we're going to China next, for…him."

China was a bit of a touchy subject for Arthur who still felt the Chinese people glaring at him for destroying their son of heaven twenty years ago during the Opium wars. To make matters worse, China now despised Arthur for taking away his little brother Hong Kong.

Well, it wasn't really making matters worse. They were already pretty bad as they were.

Alfred's eyes widened almost ridiculously. "Oh you mean China really exists? I never knew!"

Arthur immediately whacked himself on the head as Lenalee looked a bit disgruntled at her home country being called nonexistent. "Idiot, I told you about China a long time ago! How else would you explain some of the people over here?"

"I thought it was like your fairy friends, you know," he waved his hands in a flipping motion. "The ones that you insist are there." **(1)**

"_**THEY'RE REAL DAMMIT." **_

Alfred laughed at the fuming British man as he nodded to the somewhat confused and bewildered exorcists. "So, we're going to Ottawa first, then to all those other places. Our last stop is Korea to plan out how to get Kiku out of there!" With an abrupt change of subject, he motioned to the exorcists still smiling. "Now, who are you?"

After brief introductions, Alfred glanced at Kanda who had his arms folded, glaring in his direction.

"Hey, I have a question," he called as the Japanese boy grunted something unintelligible. "Aren't you a girl? Why are you dressed like a boy?"

It was like he had asked the code to the weapon that would end the world, instead of asking an innocent question. Lavi let loose a strangled gag as Allen, not holding back on his laughter, began to chuckle as Lenalee made her way to Kanda to hold him back, her eyes wide. Arthur, though, was a bit confused then glanced at Kanda before sighing, about to answer.

Kanda cut him off, taking a threatening step his way. He twitched madly, slowly drawing his sword and angling it in the light. "You _fucking _idiot, _I _am a _BOY _you SHITBAG!" he roared, slashing at him wildly as Lenalee yelped, holding Kanda back.

"Kanda-! Calm down! I'm sure he didn't mean it!"

Alfred looked confused. "…You_ are_ a boy?"

"….I'll _KILL YOU_!"

After Kanda had managed to break free and attack Alfred, the now six man group left American Headquarters up to New York.

As they did though, Renee watched them leave her office, her eyes narrowed. When she was sure that no one was there, she leaned down, picking up the phone on her desk and spun a number on it.

"Hello? Yes, this is Supervisor Epsteine. They're on the way."

She pressed the phone down, eyes closed. "…For the sake of the war…"

Outside, Alfred led the way to the train station as he talked to the conductor for a few seconds, waving wildly to the exorcists behind him. The conductor gave a slight bow to the exorcists and led the way to first class.

"If we're going to Ottawa," Lenalee asked curiously as she glanced outside the window, watching the scenery fly by. "Why are we going to New York first?"

Alfred, nursing a new bruise on his cheek, thought for a moment then grinned. "Well, we can't go nonstop right? So we'll stop by my house before going to Mattie's house!"

"We're basically there anyway," Arthur pointed out dryly as Alfred laughed, ignoring that completely.

Allen relaxed in his seat before turning his attention to Arthur and staring at him, as if he couldn't place his question the correct way. The English man noticed this then smiled slightly.

"Let me guess, how could I fight Akuma?" he asked as Allen smiled awkwardly at being caught staring while nodding his head.

"That's scary," he chided lightly, shaking his head. "How did you know?"

Arthur smiled a bit wider. "Your face expression told me the answer," he lied as he could feel the boy's thoughts even clearer now that he was sitting across from him. "Why didn't you ask me before?"

Allen shrugged, glancing out the window. The others were chatting a bit louder, trying to cover the fact that they weren't listening, although Alfred was a bit _TOO_ loud. "When you get caught up with fighting Akuma, you don't think about who slashes through what Akuma, as long as the soul is freed."

Arthur leaned against his fist, propping his elbow up on the armrest. "I've been able to fight Akuma for a long time Mr. Walker. I can't…exactly explain it myself." He sighed, shaking his head. He remembered when the first level one had appeared when he was a small country.

It wasn't the most dignified memory, he shrieking like a girl and running away. Only when he accidently clubbed it in the face with a tree branch, did the Akuma shriek, green sparks running across it. It promptly blew up, leaving Arthur stunned at what just happened.

Francis laughed at him later when he was blabbering about it to him and had explained the situation the way only he could.

He suppressed a shiver, shaking his head before bringing himself out of his thoughts. "What was this about a soul?" he asked as Lavi chimed in, unable to resist.

"The Akuma all have a soul contained within the shell. Allen here can see them."

"A soul?" Alfred asked curiously, leaning forward as Lavi nodded a hint of seriousness in his jovial gaze.

"The Akuma all have a soul powering their shells," he said as Allen's gaze grew saddened, glancing out the window. "When we destroy an Akuma, we release that soul."

"What a pitiful existence," Arthur murmured softly as Allen nodded.

"That's my reason for fighting," he said slowly, staring at his black arm. "That's why I do the things I do."

The ride was silent up to Alfred's house before Arthur turned his attention to the American. "How did you know we would arrive at the American branch?" he asked as Alfred grinned, folding his arms.

"Renee told me that you guys were coming so I told her that she didn't have to escort you to my house and that I would come and pick you up." He paused, frowning. "She really didn't want me to come here though…I wonder why?"

"Did she?" Arthur murmured, eyebrows knotted with thought.

The woman had rubbed off him the wrong way, apparently the same with the other exorcists as well, especially Allen who had a very clipped tone with the woman.

He was pretty sure that there was something up with the Supervisor, something that would bit him back in the ass later.

The train roared, blowing steam into the air as Arthur prayed that at least this trip would be remotely peaceful.

He winced at Kanda trying to kill Alfred again.

Then again…

As the six traveled through America, in a different part of the world, a man was running for his life and the life of his people.

Smoke filled the air as the black haired man raced through the crowds, slashing rapidly through the Akuma coming through his way.

He half wondered why he, of all nations, had to deal with such a influx of Akuma, demons. Smiling wryly as he slashed through another Akuma, the blood spraying on his clothes, he shook his head. He had no time for such luxuries such as thinking, wondering why all the time.

"Kiku-dono! This way!" One man yelled, waving towards a broken temple as Kiku nodded brusquely, racing through the field. As shots rang out and striking the ground near him, he pushed himself faster, praying to any deity that would listen to him.

_Please let my people live! If anything, let them **live!**  
_

One stray bullet struck him in the leg as he lurched forward, biting back a cry of pain as he forced himself to take another step forward.

If he died here, all of his people would perish with him.

He had to live…he _had to. _

_

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_**Hehe, it seemed a good place to stop. **

**(1): During this time, the Chinese community, or the Asian community in general was heavily persecuted. I wanted to reflect this feeling in Alfred because he IS America. Please don't take offense, I happen to be Asian too.  
**


	4. Suspicions

**Sorry it took longer than usual but seriously, thanks for the reviews. To Haroou, sorry! I'll include the idea next time. D: **

**I LOVE YOU GUYS FOR REVIEWING. **

**THANK YOU. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, nor will I anytime soon.  
**

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** Suspicion is a heavy armour and with its weight it impedes more than it protects. - Robert Burns (1759-1796, Scottish Poet)**

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After two attempts of murder, one stupid attempt of who can jump the farthest on the top of a train car, Arthur blamed the coffee for that one, and several attempts of trying to steal Kanda's sword, a la Lavi and Alfred, the now bedraggled group dragged themselves up the stairs to Alfred's house.

The boy was even too tired to talk, opening the door with a thud. "We'll rest here," he mumbled through the carpet as Kanda stepped over him rudely. Lenalee and Allen both helped him up with a gentle shove as the boy groaned. "Leave me alone!" he complained, waving his arms. "I'll just sleep here!"

Arthur rolled his eyes, kicking the boy in the leg lightly. "Get up you idiot," he growled as Alfred mumbled a curse word under his breath, standing to his feet.

"Go pick any room you want," he called as the exorcists nodded, picking up their luggage and walking through the gigantic house. "I have plenty of room."

Arthur decided not to point out the cracked wall in front of them.

As the exorcists wandered off, both Alfred and Arthur were left sitting in the living room as Alfred sighed. "Is it alright now?" he asked as Arthur rolled his eyes again.

"No, not until we're left _completely_ alone," he replied as Alfred sighed, a hint of seriousness crossing his gaze.

"There's something I need to tell you," he said slowly, his eyes narrowed as Arthur noticed his former charge's change in emotion. Alfred seemed hesitant to speak, his eyes darting across the room before shaking his head, mumbling something about how a hero should be stronger than what he was doing.

Arthur left the boy alone to his thoughts, glancing around the home.

Fifteen years since the boy's civil war…

Musing on this, he noticed a wall, crumbled near the back of the kitchen, but was slowly going up again, wood patched in the middle of it.

He remembered when his house was all but crushed from the wars from his long past and almost sighed. Here it was again, more proof that he was an old man.

Alfred stood up hurriedly, walking over to the kitchen. "I'll get us something to drink!" he called, obviously trying to lengthen the time in which he had to spill it all to him. Arthur didn't mind, it gave him more of a chance to see how much the war had damaged him…

Why was he so concerned? He of all people shouldn't be _concerned_, he had offered to help Alfred's counterpart during that time.

"You know Alice?" Alfred called from the kitchen as Arthur tore himself away from his remotely depressing thoughts.

"What about her?" he replied before hearing a crash and a clatter of utensils and a few curse words as Alfred burst out, serving Arthur a drink with a fragment of ceramic stuck in his hair.

"I'm fine!" he called with a grin. Arthur rolled his eyes, not even bothering to move to pluck out the piece out of his hair and taking a sip of the brew. Ready to lecture the boy on the etiquette of tea, he then tasted something he didn't expect.

_Coffee?!_

He choked on his drink, and then started to cough, pounding his chest while glaring at Alfred who was cracking up. "Welcome to America Arthur," he said with a grin, the true meaning hitting the British man hard.

_Bloody git! Giving me coffee instead of tea! He knows I don't drink coffee! _he thought furiously, eyes narrowed at the still chuckling American.

Smirking at Arthur, he continued his story. "Anyway, Alice went home to South Carolina."

The bright eyed southern belle, almost a carbon copy of Alfred…

Arthur shook his head.

Key word there was almost.

_Ahh, that was why he brought up Alice, to avoid questions of, "Wasn't she killed by you?" _Arthur mused with a hidden smile.

"Alfred, you're avoiding the topic," he chided as the American flinched, hand tensing around the cup. "Get to the point before I beat it out of you."

"Some parent you'll be," he shot back before blinking then staring at the floor, obviously realizing the extent of his words. After an awkward silence, Alfred continued, refusing to meet Arthur's gaze. "Well, for one, Renee isn't American so I can't tell what she's thinking."

"…That's what you wanted to tell me? Besides, you shouldn't abuse that part of you Alfred."

"It's not like you haven't Arthur," he retorted, frowning at the British man. "And besides, that's only one part I wanted to tell you. There are other things I wanted to tell you!"

"I can't help it," Arthur hissed under his breath so that he couldn't be heard by the exorcists, setting down the cup harder than he meant, "If the lad's British and he's sitting right _ACROSS_ from me." The cup made a dull thud as he glared at him.

The door shutting caught both off guard as Arthur's eyebrow rose, realizing it was to one of the exorcist's room. Alfred ignored it, starting to continue his story. "Anyway, after…" he clenched his fists. There was no way he would use _that _word, "you know, Alice came over to talk. The topic went to the Black Order, I don't know, don't ask how, and Alice told me something strange."

"Stranger than demons wearing human skin?" Arthur replied with a small smile as Alfred snorted at the dry humor.

"No, she told me during…_that, _something happened to one person down in New Orleans."

"Wouldn't something be happening to many people during that time?" Arthur asked, treading lightly on the word civil war.

"She said it was more specific!" Alfred retorted, taking a huge sip of coffee. "It wasn't like anything she felt during _that_!" The boy was getting more and more agitated as he explained, leaving Arthur to wonder if he should let Alfred continue.

"Alfred, calm down," he said as gently as he could as Alfred drew in a huge breath. He began again, slowly, voice quiet.

"Anyway, she said it was…a voice that invaded her head, one that made her kill, rage against everything and when she stopped, she had almost killed me in the process. She didn't regret it then, but…" Alfred buried his face in his hands now shaking no matter how much he tried to clench them tightly. "She said she couldn't stop herself, that…a Noah was born in New Orleans."

_Well, _Arthur thought, surprise and shock crossing his features. _This complicates things. _

Inside Lavi's room, the five were spread out, Allen sat on a chair near the door, the chair flipped around to provide an armrest for his arms, Lavi flopped on a bed, Lenalee sitting on the bed edge and Kanda on the floor, mediating.

"So we're resting here huh?" Lavi asked as Allen nodded, leaning against the back of the chair. "It's a nice place," The Bookman Junior continued as Kanda snorted.

"If that's the reason why we're gathered in here, I'm going back to my room." As he said this, he stood up, making his way to open the door.

"Wait, Yu." Kanda glared at Lavi, reaching for his sword before Allen sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Kanda, sit down please," he said, glaring at the Japanese boy who rolled his eyes at him, but complied, sitting down on the floor again.

Lavi flipped open his little book again, thumbing through before jabbing a thumb towards the living room. "I've seen that guy, Alfred, in old books as well. They document him as Alfred F. Jones. I don't think that is just a coincidence."

"Well," Lenalee pointed out slowly, her eyes closed in thought. "There was a civil war here recently. Maybe they were documenting that."

He shook his head, holding up the book for the other three to see. Allen squinted at the scrawls that dated…

His eyes widened before looking at Lavi with surprise. "July Fourth, 1776…?"

Lavi nodded, his eyes narrowed. "The date that America was formerly declared their own country."

Kanda was intrigued, although he didn't show it. "That would make it…" he paused, running the math through his head. "Almost a hundred and four years." His eyebrows rose at the number. "What the hell?"

Allen clapped almost mockingly when he confirmed the number himself. "Looks like BaKanda isn't just all brawn."

Kanda, being Kanda, retorted the way only he would. "Go fuck yourself Moyashi," he snapped angrily, flipping him the bird while he was at it.

"My name is ALLEN! I take it back, you ARE all brawn!"

"In ANY case," Lavi quickly cut in, before the two actually exchanged blows again. "Yu's right. If this guy had been here for over a hundred and four years, what exactly does that make him?"

"An immortal guy who uses innocence to keep living," Allen deadpanned as Lenalee giggled at his tone.

"That wouldn't be the first," she said with a smile as Kanda winced, holding his shoulder. Victorio came to mind as the swordsman shook his head.

"If it's like that, then shouldn't we take the innocence?" he asked as the others fell silent.

"Mr. Kirkland requested for our help…I don't think it would be right to betray him like that," Lenalee said with a worried look on her face, the smile gone.

"Besides, I heard about the Victorio case," Lavi said, sitting up straight on the bed from his slouching position. "That guy was fighting Akuma but going berserk with it at the same time. This isn't that exact case."

"Then what, we wait for this mission to be over then take it from them both," Kanda confirmed as the others nodded, Allen and Lenalee both a bit hesitant.

"We should listen to them first," Lenalee said with a nod from Allen. "Before we do anything drastic."

"That we will Lenalee," Lavi replied with a grin. "And until then, I'm crashing. Night!"

He fell backwards, on his back and promptly fell asleep as Allen and Lenalee laughed quietly and Kanda rolled his eyes again, muttering about stupid rabbits.

Walking over to the door, he opened it and glanced towards the living room. Arthur and Alfred were still talking, quietly, while nodding to him. He scowled, opening the door. "Why the hell do I do this?" he muttered as he stepped through towards his bed. He would take a short rest before getting up to train.

The Japanese boy froze as he entered his room, a spiking pain running up his leg and torso. "What the-!" he managed to bite out before falling forward in a thud, twitching, pain wrapped around himself.

As he lost consciousness, he saw flashes of his homeland, although tampered by Marie's own memories, and a man with a Katana, bleeding from the same area he was hurting at.

"…What…the…f…"

And all was black.

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**Pleasedon'tkillme. XD**


	5. Driving

**And so, another chapter arrives. Thank you for reviewing! :D**

**I do hope that this is remotely amusing and also, uh...well, you know, explains some things. More explanations are to come of course. xD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own. D:  
**

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**Insanity is doing the same thing in the same way and expecting a different outcome. - Chinese Proverb **

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"Honda-dono!"

"Honda-dono, now isn't the time to sleep!"

Kiku snapped out of his daze as he shook his head, trying to get to his feet. That boy...he seemed so familiar and yet he could not reach out to grasp who he was.

"Honda-dono, are you alright? Did the blast hurt you?" The men asked almost in unison as they glared at each other then tried to speak, only to end up speaking at the same time yet again.

Kiku managed to laugh, something he rarely did these days, as the two men still glared at each other but turned their attention to the country who was sitting up now, holding his sword close to him.

"Are the Akuma gone?" he asked, dropping the boy from his thoughts, as the men nodded.

"We lost Azami though when the Akuma blew up the temple we were in," The first man spoke as Kiku nodded, rubbing his torso.

"So _that's _who was shot…? he murmured softly, closing his eyes in reverence to the boy who had died. The second man nodded his head, rubbing his leg.

"Arikawa and I are some of the few left," he spoke before shifting uncomfortably, eyes focused on the ground. "We should keep going right?"

"Oi, Furukawa, you alright?" The first man asked as the second man glared at him.

"Just FINE thank you. Besides, I'm not so much of a man that I can't handle my own issues so let's go before the Akuma come back."

A jolt and a shudder and the three men were gone into the distance.

"BLOODY HELL ALFRED!"

"Calm down Arthur! I only missed the cart by that much."

"MISSED?! You SCRAPED the CART!"

Kanda woke up to the shouts before promptly thrown forward. "WHAT THE HELL?!" he roared as the once throbbing pain ebbed away quickly.

"HEY YOU GUYS! YU'S UP!"

That was Lavi…but why the hell was he shouting like an idiot?

Lenalee glanced over to Kanda, trying to say something along the lines of, "I'm glad you're alright," but it was cut off by a shriek of fear and clinging to a…door? Kanda was left wondering if the world was going stupid.

It was then he realized that he was in some sort of steel…_thing_ that had no top. It sounded like a train, somewhat, but was quieter, but not by much. It was swerving wildly, back and forth, Alfred laughing loudly.

Oh that fucker **(1)** was so _dead _when Kanda managed to get out of the death machine.

Alfred whooped, hearing Kanda revived in the back. "Alright! Now everyone's awake to feel the wonder!"

"What the HELL is this piece of SHIT?!" Kanda roared angrily as Allen, looking particularly sick, stared at Kanda.

"It's a carriage that runs without a horse…" he moaned, face turning green again.

"How the hell did we get in this thing?" Kanda snapped angrily as Lavi jabbed a finger at Alfred.

"_**BLAME HIM**_."

Alfred pouted at the sight of the exorcists' obvious discomfort as he shook his head. "Have you guys never felt the wonders of a car before?"

"No, and you're making me want to _DESTROY _this bloody thing!" Arthur yelled at him. "When the hell did you have time to make this?!"

"It's a test model! The guy who made it wanted me to try the new steam car so I decided to take the chance now! **(2)** H-Hey! Arthur-OW! Why are you hitting with an umbrella?!" Arthur had pulled out an umbrella on the ground and began whacking him.

"It'll shield the stupidity out of your brain you bloody idiot!" he roared, continuing to whack the life out of Alfred. **(3)** Only when the American made a sharp right turn, almost into a tree did the British man stop, holding his hands over his head while adopting a crash position.

Lenalee looked as if she would destroy the model once they got out, strange for a girl who usually was a kind soul.

"Hold on!" Alfred yelled, already recovered from the beating with the umbrella, jerking the handle as the car jerked forward. "To Mattie's house!"

It was a nice day for Matthew Williams, having finally become his own country. His twin brother was alright from his civil war, and his bear… Kuma…Kuma…Kumahiro? Was that what his bear's name was? It sounded right…

He shook his head, hugging his bear somewhat tighter. His bear and people were alright and nothing could spoil this day. Maybe he would get a book or something, to read.

_Pancakes also sound good at the moment_, he thought with a happy smile. _After all, this is a nice day!_

But, as everyone knows, anyone who thinks that is automatically jinxing themselves.

A loud blast caught him off guard as he shrieked, jumping before he slowly peeked out a fragmented window.

He paused, staring before a familiar figure popped up, grinning at him. "Hey Mattie! Got room?"

"Oh. Hello Alfred."

His day just got worse.

Matthew glanced over his brother's shoulder, eyes narrowed. "Al, care to explain that burning mass on my front yard?" he asked as gently as one could with a burning mass of metal on their yard.

Alfred nodded cheerfully as he darted over, pulling Arthur to his feet then, as the British man turned to help the exorcists, he waved over to them.

"We're going to help Kiku with the exorcists from the Black Order! You ready?"

Matthew knew about this mission, most of their kind did, but he didn't exactly expect…for this kind of calling. You know, your twin brother crashing…whatever that was on your front lawn with a sprawling heap of people next to him.

"…Of course, but first, let's help them up…okay?" he spoke softly as his brother nodded with a grin.

"Of course!" he repeated before realizing there that there was a murderous rage right behind him. Alfred laughed even louder, eyes looking slightly panicked as he began to run as fast as he could to Matthew's house.

"You asshole!" Matthew heard before there was an ominous step and a 'shiiink' noise as he turned around from watching his brother high tailing it out of there.

_I wonder why Alfred ran away like th-__WHY IS THERE A GUY WITH A SWORD RUSHING TOWARDS ME? _

That thought all came out at once as he yelped, dodging a sword slash towards his waist, eyes wide. "You asshole of a driver!" the boy with the sword roared as Matthew mentally sighed in the tiny corner of his mind that wasn't panicking. Another person who couldn't tell him apart from his brother…

"Yu-! That's not Alfred! Calm down!"

…

Wait.

…Someone could tell him apart?!

Matthew turned to the voice as his eyes almost sparkled. After so many years of being ignored and constantly called as Alfred, there was finally someone who could tell him apart!

A red head had clung to…'Yu' and was currently getting pounded on the head for it. "Let me GO! He's right in front of me dammit!"

"Uh…" he began softly as one boy turned to glare at him, the other pleading with Matthew to prove him right. "I'm…um…Alfred's twin brother…Matthew."

The red head grinned at the boy triumphantly, letting go of the other boy who growled, sheathing his sword.

Arthur had then pulled another boy out of the rubble as he nodded to Matthew. "Uh…Hello Matthew," he began awkwardly, picking up the somewhat burnt umbrella that had rolled towards his foot.

"…I heard about the car…Alfred was talking about it last year."

Arthur sighed, rubbing his temples. "That was…absolutely, the worst day in my life."

He paused, shaking his head, flashes of _that _time running through his head. "Well no," he corrected himself. "But it was certainly one of the more...worse moments of my life."

Matthew made a noise that told Arthur that he agreed with him as he nodded to the small group. "Hello," he said softly and with a smile. "I'm Matthew Williams, Alfred's twin."

A white haired boy smiled, holding out his hand. "Allen Walker, Mr. Williams, it's a pleasure to meet you." Allen was a bit confused, having not seen him up until now. Oh well? Shaking his hand, Allen decided to push that back for later.

"Kanda Yu," the boy with the sword growled as Matthew shivered, taking an instinctive step back.

The girl smiled, brushing off her slightly burnt skirt then took his hand. "I'm Lenalee Li, it is very…" She paused, looking at the bear in his arms. "Oh how cute!" she cooed as the bear sniffed then gently batted her nose.

She laughed as Matthew smiled at her. "I think he likes you," he said softly as she smiled back at him, ruffling his bear on his head.

He turned his attention back to the only boy as of yet who could tell him apart. "I'm Lavi! Nice to meet you!" the boy cheered, holding out his hand to shake.

Matthew smiled widely at him, shaking the outstretched hand as Arthur glanced behind Matthew. "Alfred, you better come out," he called as Alfred's face appeared in the fragmented window.

"Uh…how about when Kanda puts away that sharp pointy-!" His plea was cut short by Kanda rushing into the house, sword drawn. "ARTHUR! MATTIE!" the boy shrieked, as a shattering of another window was heard and Matthew winced. He ducked under Kanda's second blow and managed to race outside to the front yard. "I know I'm a hero and all," he began while dodging rapidly. "But sometimes a hero needs a little HELP?!"

Arthur rolled his eyes before Alfred ducked behind him. Somehow, this position was familiar…but before he could dwell on it, Matthew entered the conversation. "We should head out soon, to pick up Ivan right?"

"So," Allen stepped in, blocking the Japanese boy from any stabbing he might do. "We go from England, to America, then Canada, back to England, to Russia and China, a final stop at Korea, then the final entrance to Japan."

"Cut out the England bit and you'll have our basic plan," Arthur confirmed with a nod. "In fact, we should head to the church with the ark soon."

"Wait," Alfred began, finally regaining some of his hero composure. "If we're not going to England, where are we going? I thought we were stopping by there."

"I didn't find any point in stopping by my home again," Arthur replied before his palm met his forehead, muffling his answers. "So…that…bloody frog…" he gagged visibly, "offered for us to stay in France before heading out to Russia."

Matthew perked up, hugging his bear. "We're going to see Papa then?" he asked eagerly as Arthur mumbled a gritted 'yes'.

The Canadian nodded eagerly, darting inside to grab his luggage he had set near the doorway. He was gone for a few minutes then appeared, setting his luggage down. "How are we going to get to the church?" he asked as Allen pointed down the path.

"There was a mission in America recently, so if we go down with the train, it shouldn't take us long," he said as Alfred pouted.

"I wish that the car didn't blow up," he said with a frown as the others glared at him, Kanda slowly drawing his sword. Alfred, oblivious, continued. "We would have made it down faster."

"You're right Matthew, we'll take the train down to the church," Arthur spoke while gritting his teeth, narrowing his eyes as the others nodded their agreement.

Allen glanced at the broken window panes. "Shouldn't we fix that?" he asked as Matthew glanced at the broken window panes.

"I cleaned up the glass inside and sent a message to someone to fix it while I'm gone, so it should be fine," he said as Allen glanced at him then smiled.

"Then I guess we should head out then."

Once on the train back to a church in New York, Kanda finally had some time to ask what happened to him. Lenalee frowned.

"I came in a few hours later, to tell you that we were going to start to Ottawa. You were on the floor unconscious and I yelled for someone to come," she said as Kanda remembered a flash of pain that had run through him before he fell unconscious. "I tried to get you up...but...you wouldn't respond."

"No one could get you up," Lavi added seriously as Kanda's frown grew. "Arthur considered sending you back to the Black Order, but in the end, we decided to take you along in that hell machine…"

"What happened?" Arthur asked as Kanda shook his head.

"If I knew, I wouldn't be asking what happened would I?" he growled testily as Arthur glared at him but stayed silent, fingering the umbrella next to him. Kanda frowned, staring out the window. This bothered him, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

His hand brushed against the tattoo as he closed his eyes tightly.

_Alma..._

There would be time for answers, he decided as he let his hand drop and in the process, the man who had appeared in his dream, who shared the same wounds as he did. And he would be damned if he was denied them.

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**(1): Kanda, I forgot to mention, has a very foul mouth. XD But then again, I guess that was sort of obvious no?**

**(2): So, I'm trying to make this as historically accurate as I can (but sort of failing), so I asked if there was any sort of car back in the 1880s to my history teacher. He said that there was a steam car experiment and this popped up. **

**(3): Haroou, if you're reading this, THANKS. XD England + Umbrella = True Gentleman!  
**


	6. France

**Thank you guys for reviewing! :D SERIOUSLY. I'm so excited that a story of mine reached 31 reviews! THANKS.**

**Also, my next update will take some time, since I'm disappearing for a few days to a part of Alfredland. So, thank you again and I'll see you next chapter! I'll get it out as soon as I can! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia and DGM. :D**

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Pursuit and seduction are the essence of sexuality . It's part of the sizzle. - Camille Paglia (1947-, American Author, Critic, Educator)

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Francis was a generally nice person. Perverted, yes, but he argued it was his way of showing _amore_ to those who he wanted to be nice to.

Lately, he felt like he ran through several miles of…nails, bolts, for example, with revolutions and Napoleon, the new governments, the list could go on and on.

Francis inwardly winced at Napoleon and yet, at the same time, was grateful to the general for saving him from certain death.

He walked through his restored home as he breathed in the smell of roses. They should be coming soon…It was growing dark too, he should have dinner set out.

Opening the door to glance outside, a not so familiar sight ran into his arms.

"Papa! J'ai raté vous! _Papa! I missed you!_"

Ah, perfect! He had missed his once former colony and still son even though, it was somewhat unfortunate that he sometimes…scratch that, most of the time forgot about him and mistaken him for Alfred. It wasn't as if he didn't know who Matthew was though, far from it!

"Matthew! Comment avez-vous été? A l'anglais salaud traités vous mal? _Matthew! How have you been? Has the English bastard treated you badly?_"

Immediately an umbrella met his face as Arthur twitched madly. "Hello frog," he gritted out as Francis rubbed his now sore nose.

"Why hello _Arthur_," he managed to say albeit it came out more nasally than he meant. He rubbed his nose again, twitching it before glaring at him. "You nearly broke my nose."

"Well, that's too bad, want me to try again?" Arthur growled as Matthew started to panic, waving his arms to prevent another fight from happening.

He didn't have to, as it turned out, because Francis found more victims to molest. "_Bonjour, mademoiselle," _he began, taking Lenalee's hand and kissing it lightly. The girl flushed a pretty shade of red as the others filed in the room. "May I have your name?"

"L-Lenalee Li," she began timidly as he smiled, still holding her hand.

"Francis Bonnefoy, my dear," he said before glancing at Arthur who was still twitching. "How can you bear to travel with a brute such as him?" He took a step closer to Lenalee, touching her shoulder. "Shall I show you a more…" he whispered something in her ear as she flushed darker red, promptly giving him, as dubbed at the Black Order, "Lenalee's wrath."

Francis ended up with another bloody nose that day.

"So why aren't you coming along?" Alfred asked as the others sat down to rest for awhile. Lenalee managed to sit as far away as Francis as she could but that didn't stop Francis from sidling up to Allen who had the misfortune of sitting next to him.

"I, Alfred, as unfortunate as it is that I cannot help Kiku, am an extremely busy man," Francis replied, his fingers slowly dancing up to Allen's shoulder.

Arthur watched with increasing anger as he glared at Francis. "Keep your hands off the lad Francis," he growled as Allen scooted closer to the edge of the couch, trying his best not to be rude and escape at the same time.

"So why is it, Arthur, that you get to keep all the cute boys and girls to yourself, including my Matthew?" he asked as Arthur twitched madly, glaring at him.

"If you forgot the mission at hand Francis, we're going to help Kiku," he bit out as Francis waved his hand in a flippant manner.

"Hide it all you want Arthur, I know how much of a pervert you truly are," he said as Arthur immediately turned bright red, spluttering something about how much of an idiot Francis was.

"Uh…to the point, Papa, why aren't you going?" Matthew interrupted wisely, watching as Arthur had to be quietly restrained the best he could be by both Alfred and Lavi. Francis grew serious, shaking his head.

"It has been nine years," he said with a slight frown, shaking his head. "Since Napoleon's death. France is still in turmoil and I must be there to oversee that the government is running smoothly **(1)** so we do not have a…repeat of…" Francis unconsciously shivered, shaking his head. "Of those events."

"The French Revolution?" Lavi guessed as Francis nodded. The Bookman Junior frowned at that, folding his arms while sitting back in his seat. "You make it sound like you were there," he pointed out as Francis laughed, shaking his head.

"My dear red head, I was not there personally, but you can obviously see the affects on this beautiful country," he replied airily, waving his hand yet again. Turning his attention to Matthew, he frowned. "And why are you going Matthew?"

"Well…" Matthew began, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "I don't know Kiku too well…but it's not as if I can stand by and watch someone die in front of me." He pushed up his glasses, not used to the stares he was receiving. "So when Alfred asked if I wanted to help him…I decided to come…"

"Ahh, I see…" Francis murmured as he glanced towards the exorcists' way then stood to his feet. "You're welcome to stay here until you leave for Russia," he announced as he left for the kitchen to prepare for a light dinner. Arthur glanced towards the others and nodded before whispering to them that they should keep their doors locked.

He stood to his feet, making his way to the kitchen where Francis was busy cooking.

"If you're going to try to cook your awful scones, please resist the urge," the French man spoke while chopping up green onions. "I like having my kitchen in one piece."

"Shut up you bloody frog!" Arthur hissed, knotting his fists tightly. "My cooking is not that bad!"

"And Matthew did not almost die of food poisoning?" Francis replied with a frown as Arthur coughed, shaking his head.

"Stop distracting me!" he snapped as Francis held up his hands, conceding to the English man. Arthur leaned against the counter, folding his arms. "You were serious when you were talking about the government?"

"As much as I would like to tag along, _Angleterre_," Francis began with a small smirk as Arthur frowned, glancing outside. "It's as I said, I need to take care of my people. I can offer backup," he said while setting a pot on the stove. "But that's about the most I can do…unfortunately."

Arthur stared at Francis before allowing a small smile. "I appreciate that," he said with a nod as Francis waved a spoon at him, spraying some of the sauce on the English man.

"Take care of Matthew," he ordered as Arthur smudged the sauce off his jacket front with a disdainful look on his face.

"As if I'd let something happen to one of my former colonies," he called, storming out of the kitchen. Francis smirked, shaking his head. Arthur would never change…

Arthur climbed the stairs wearily, flopping against his bedside. Staring at the distastefully placed rose petals, he sighed, relaxing against the bedpost. There had been so much going on, so much to draw in.

In the process of only a few weeks, he had been dragged across the Atlantic Ocean twice, ridden a hell machine, and learned that his former little brother had a Noah born in his country.

He mulled over the last part of his thoughts. The Noah of wrath…it wouldn't mean much to a normal person but Alfred was a country, he was America. Who they are, what they do reflect off Alfred, and in turn…

He had asked the exorcists about the Noah of Wrath and Kanda had replied that he was dead. It still didn't relieve Arthur's thoughts, thinking about Alice's reactions during the Civil War. Had the Noah of Wrath still be alive to this day, Arthur would have protested against bringing him along.

Why some people might ask?

Noah and Innocence are, as Allen had explained, counter parts to each other. Both cannot exist in the same plane without wanting to destroy each other.

Arthur could not risk Alfred trying to rip himself apart. It…

He clenched his fists angrily, punching his bedside. There would be no way he would place him in danger.

Again were the thoughts of protecting Alfred, protecting America. Alfred, if he heard these words coming from Arthur would protest, saying that he wasn't Arthur's little brother anymore. He, Alfred would say with a smirk, was able to protect himself as he had proven through his civil war.

Arthur snorted at that thought, uncurling his fists. He had been through his share of civil war, more than enough and he had proven himself time and time again. Was he not Captain Kirkland, the pirate who struck fear into the hearts of the Spanish Armada, into Spain himself? Was he not the United Kingdom, uniting an empire that one would have once simply dreamed of?

America was still a child and in some ways, Arthur wanted to protect that naivety, that innocence. In other ways, Arthur wanted nothing more but to punch him across the jaw for being such a bloody idiot.

Such was their relationship, Arthur mused with a soft smile. He wanted to keep it that way.

The door opened, surprising the man as he turned on his bed, glancing at the intruder. "Hey…Arthur, can I talk to you?" Alfred called as Arthur smiled, nodding. He snuck in as he sat on the chair near the bedside. "What was it like, being a pirate?" he asked as Arthur's eyebrow rose, blinking.

"I don't suppose that this talk has an ulterior motive?" he asked as Alfred laughed awkwardly, shaking his head.

"You're scary, you realize this right?" he said with a small smile as Arthur shook his head, folding his arms.

"Git, I took care of you for how long?"

Alfred laughed, sitting back against the bedpost. "I know we fight a lot," he said with sheepish look as Arthur rolled his eyes. "But I want to ask you something, a favor."

A wave of dread crashed into Arthur as he stiffened, staring at the country. "You're going to have to tell me first before I can agree to anything. For all I know, I could be agreeing to something bloody stupid." Alfred tightened his fists, closing his eyes tightly then stared at him.

"If there was a chance that a Noah started to act out against us, and…uh…well…he or she are one of my people…"

"America," Arthur spoke urgently, ditching the country's human name. "There is absolutely no bloody way I am destroying you. You're the hero aren't you? Buck up."

Alfred looked stunned, eyes wide as he stared at Arthur, bewildered and shaking his head. "You really can read my mind can't you?" he asked, a hint of excitement in his voice.

Arthur glared at him, bopping him on the head. "Your request is quite obvious, you git, I can't read your mind." He rolled his eyes, retracting his fist. "Nor do I _want_ to."

"But I don't want to hurt anyone!" Alfred protested as Arthur bopped him again, causing the boy to yelp and hold his head.

"Ow! That's twice now!" he complained as Arthur ignored the complaints.

"America, you will get through this invisible war, you will get through it whether I drag you through it or you getting up and doing it yourself," Arthur ordered, gripping the country's shoulders, as Alfred sighed, deflating visibly.

"England…" he began before yawning, catching him off guard. Arthur's harsh look softened as he ruffled the boy's head.

"Shut up and go to sleep alright? We're going to Russia in a few days," Arthur said softly as the boy nodded, yawning again. He then followed his orders directly, falling straight on the former pirate's lap.

Arthur stiffened, trying to shove the boy off his lap. "Gah! You stupid prat, get the fuck **(2)** off me!" he snapped as Alfred laughed, still drowsy.

"C'mon Arthur, just lemme stay here for a bit…" the boy mumbled, slurring his words, as Arthur growled, whacking the boy once more for good measure.

"You're such a hassle," he muttered darkly as Alfred began to snore, leaving the British man sighing, smiling slightly while patting the boy's head.

When Francis came to wake up the duo, he found Alfred curled up on Arthur's lap and Arthur leaning backwards on the bed frame, snoring slightly.

The French man smirked, shaking his head as he climbed the stairs to awaken the exorcists.

_Angleterre _was still a soft man at heart, no matter how much he would deny it.

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**(1): Okay, so I missed being able to use Napoleon by nine years, his death was in 1871. Which, honestly, sucks, because I really wanted to use him. D: His history is really interesting. But yeah, the government at the time was different. France is still in trouble, but he's still stabled somewhat. **

**(2): England has a foul mouth too, former pirate and all. You have to love Pirate!England. I know I do. *found tons of fanart dedicated to him* **

**I loved the latter half of this chapter and really had a hard time with the beginning. I'm not too good at writing France so send me your complaints if he's badly characterized! **

**So far, my favorite character to write for in this fic is probably and most obviously England. Probably because his tsundere like attitude is so cute. Anyway! Enough of my babbles, I'll see you when I update as soon as I can! **


	7. Cold

**So, I'm finally done! Sorry for the long wait. D: But yeah, I hope you guys enjoy and thank you for reviewing! Seriously, it makes it worth it. xD**

**Disclaimer: I've been through this about six times already. I don't own now back off lawyers. **

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**Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties. - John Milton **

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Komui Li was walking amiably through the Black Order, having avoided his secretary sent from hell by ducking behind a Finder and having that Finder point in another direction. Congratulating himself on his success, he made a quick trip down to the cafeteria to chat with Jerry when his Lenalee senses started to tingle.

Spinning around, he glanced side to side, startled that it would ring off as he started to walk down calmly towards where the forbidden hall was. His Lenalee…his Lenalee defiled by perverts?! No way, not as long as he was alive!

_Lenalee, _he thought with a fiery burning passion that could be felt almost a mile away. _I'll save you from the perverts who hit on you!_

As he passed the Science Headquarters, old timers to the main branch recognized that aura, especially Reever who dropped a book he was carrying and charged towards Komui who realized Reever had caught onto his plan and began to sprint.

"Oh no you_ DON'T_ Supervisor! I thought your secretary would keep you working, but you end up sneaking for that THING again!" Reever yelled, grabbing the Supervisor's jacket while dragging his feet into the floor.

"But Lenalee's in trouble!" Komui yelled, struggling towards the room where Komurin was held. He finally managed to grip the handle bar tightly, glaring at Reever who began to pull as hard as he could. "I have to protect her!"

"You don't even know where she is right now!" That caused Komui to start bawling for his sister as Reever groaned, his face getting to know his palm very well. Through gritted teeth, he tightened his grip on the bawling Supervisor's jacket. "Lenalee is a strong girl so please Supervisor, I'm asking you this. STOP WORRYING ABOUT HER!"

Deflating visibly, the Supervisor then nodded, giving up his death grip on the handle to Komurin's room.

"I still want her coffee. Bridget's is no good."

Reever sighed, still dragging him off. "I know you do."

Meanwhile, somewhat near by, the exorcists were relaxing to the best of their abilities. That mean basically avoiding the French man the best they could.

Lenalee had taken to using her Dark Boots to avoid the French man while the others had used their innocence more than once on the man, especially Kanda, who was very twitchy with his blade as of late.

"You're already going?" the French man asked as Arthur glared at him, watching as Francis tended to a blade slash on the wrist, a la Kanda in his berserker mode.

"Of course we are," he replied tersely, eyes narrowed. "There is no time to waste. We need to get to Russia."

"Hmph, why are you in a rush to get over there?" Francis asked with a frown as Arthur sighed, shaking his head.

"As much as I don't like him, he offered to help and he is a formidable foe against our enemy," the British man replied as Francis's frown grew deeper.

"You know he's losing it don't you?" **(1) **

Arthur glanced at the French man who for once was serious. "Losing what's left of his sanity? I knew that already," he answered as Francis looked uncomfortable then shook his head.

"With his people growing more discontent, I fear for the Russian," Francis admitted as Arthur's thick eyebrows shot up, surprised at his words.

"You? Concerned for Ivan's sake?" he asked, careful to use the country's human name, as the exorcists were in the room next door. Arthur was a bit confused. Wasn't it Francis who attacked Moscow in 1812 back when…back when he burnt down Alfred's home in a fit of rage? Why was he so concerned?

"You must admit, we were somewhat close, besides his burning down Moscow after I captured it."

"If close means you shirking away every time we happen to see him," Arthur jabbed as Francis glared at him.

"In any case, even if he is a bit on the…shall I say creepy side, he still is…" Francis shook his head with a tired smile. "Well…you know."

Arthur realized after a moment's thought, that he had meant to say, "One of us," to which, he understood that sentiment. They were all countries in the end, one who held the burden of their people. Even if they didn't get alone, they still understood each other.

Well, Arthur corrected, glancing wryly at Francis, not really.

"In any case, we'll set off," Arthur said as Francis nodded absentmindedly, thoughts a thousand miles away, while staring down the hallway.

"God speed on your trip _Angleterre_," Francis spoke with a small smile, turning his gaze towards him, as Arthur glanced at the closed door then nodded a slight grin on his lips.

"I hope for the best to you as well, France."

"Well, isn't this rare?" Alfred spoke up as Matthew joined him from the kitchen where they just were. No they weren't listening the entire time, a hero would never eavesdrop! "Both Arthur AND Francis aren't trying to kill each other!"

"It's called putting aside the petty differences that separate you," Francis said with an angry swish of his flowing blond hair as Alfred just grinned.

"See, I knew you guys could get along!" the boy claimed as Matthew sighed, shaking his head.

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" Arthur snapped as the door opened and Allen appeared with a smile on his face and more food in his mouth. Arthur blanched as Allen glanced at him with a slight smile.

"Is anything wrong?" he asked as Arthur shook his head blankly. "I just went to the kitchen for more food." Allen hid the fact that he had heard clips of their conversation. It wasn't his business anyway about Russia.

"Well," he began as the attention turned to him. "You have to admit, the two of you were trying to rip each other's faces apart most of the time we were here. So we just all thought you two hated each other to no end."

"Well," Francis cut in, eyebrow twitching. "Our relationship is like yours and Kanda's. We both hate each other but we know when to work with each other."

Allen twitched as well, rather angrily. "Don't compare me to BaKanda!" he snapped as Kanda appeared in the hallway.

"What was that you damn Moyashi?!"

"You heard me, I don't want to be compared to you!"

"You two, calm down!" Lenalee lectured as the two glared at each other then took a step to the side, glaring bullets into the wall.

"We'll be going then," Matthew spoke as Francis's lip shook then he hugged the boy tightly. The boy yelped as Francis let go, ruffling his head.

"_Come back safely alright_?" he said gently as Matthew smiled, leaning into the embrace.

"I will Papa…"

After a few whacks from another advance on Lenalee, Francis said his good byes to the rest and watched them go, a slight frown on his face. "Protect them _Angleterre…_"

A few weeks later, a relatively calmer trip, the group had arrived in Russia, heading for Moscow. Alfred glanced around the country, shouldering his pack. "You know I'm surprised," he said with a wide look. "There's no Akuma attacking us as of late."

"Git, you say that and they'll appear!" Arthur snapped as Alfred held up his hands.

At that exact moment, Allen's eye activated as he sighed tiredly. "He jinxed it."

Lavi held out his hammer, activating it with a spin of the wrist. "Well, if we don't get practice, then we won't get anywhere right?" he called with a smirk as Kanda raced ahead, eyes narrowed and Mugen activated.

"Nigentou!" Kanda yelled as he crashed through a wave of level three. There were about five level three, and one level four. A bit much to handle but it wasn't as if they were outnumbered. The Japanese boy ducked swiftly, kicking an Akuma out of the way as Allen arrived in front of the pack.

Lifting his blade, he took no concern of Kanda and slashed through the Akuma with a loud yell. "What the _fuck _Moyashi?!" he roared as Allen smirked at the roar, but ignored him as he raced forward again.

Alfred pulled out a rifle from his pack and whooped loudly. "Hell yeah!" he yelled, as Arthur whacked him hard, causing him to fire a wild shot. "Ow!" Alfred complained as Arthur glared at him.

"Don't go overboard," he hissed as Alfred gained a subdued face, nodding.

"Alright," he mumbled as he reloaded his gun and fired again. Lavi watched as the shot rang true and struck an Akuma back, the bullet taking its affect as he narrowed his eyes.

He as well…and Matthew…this was too coincidental, it couldn't be like that.

Lavi lost count, how many times that the innocence rumor had been false or those who claimed to be exorcists. Considering there was one hundred and nine innocence in the world, there was no chance that there would be so many innocence users in one place, even if it were just three more people.

Kanda glanced at Lavi and scowled, kicking him in the shin and promptly tripping the Bookman Junior away from an attack. "Pay attention!" he snapped as Lavi winced. "It doesn't matter how or when they got their innocence. It's all the same situation anyway isn't it?"

"Geeze, Yu, no need to be so tough," Lavi chided, rubbing his bruised shin as Kanda glared at him.

"You get my point," he gritted out as he swung his blade again, slashing through another Akuma.

Matthew glanced around rapidly and then with his eyes clenched shut, he held out his pistol and shot. He never liked to shoot a gun but as a country, he had tried to put that feeling behind him. Protecting people such as the people behind him was more important than his personal feelings.

"Waltz, Misty-Wind **(2)**!" Lenalee yelled from above, forcing Matthew to dodge the tornado sent his way as the girl yelled her apologies then turned towards the Level four.

Or, she was about to when the Level four stopped in its steps, clutching its head. "N-No! What did I do? Stop it!"

The three countries were confused when Arthur heard Allen suck in a huge breath and race forward, blade outstretched. "O-Oi! What the hell do you think-!" he yelled as the boy refused to stop, pounding his feet to catch up with the now shrieking Akuma.

"MISTRESS NOOOAAAAHHH!"

Lenalee, with a burst of speed, tackled Allen away as he struggled against the grip the girl had against his waist when both Kanda and Lavi added their weight to the boy.

"Stop!" Allen cried, his eyes flushed with tears. "Stop it! The soul!"

Lenalee refused, eyes narrowed as she remembered the other time, _that _time and the first encounter with a Noah. It had almost ended up the same way…she wouldn't let it happen again.

Arthur, Matthew, and Alfred could only watch in a sickened awe as the Akuma screeched shrilly then began to bubble as it opened its mouth, staring at Allen whose left eye was now bleeding, acting as tears.

"…Sav…e…me…"

Its body slowly corroded as the head remained, letting the Akuma feel every last bit of pain as it opened its mouth and _screamed_. The exorcists and the countries, even if they didn't have Allen's eye, could see and feel the Akuma's pain and even Arthur had to look away for a brief moment.

Allen could see the remnant soul falling into the abyss, forever captured and never to be free again. He bit back a sob as he tightened his fists, glaring into the distance as his friends got off him and the countries walked up to them, eyes wide.

As they did, shrieks of laughter filled the cold field they were in as a girl, standing on an umbrella in the air arrived on the scene. "That never gets old Allen Walker, does it?"

"Only to a Noah with a twisted sense of humor, it doesn't," he replied bitterly, somewhat used to the Noah's sick games as Alfred stiffened, fists clenching. The Akuma had mentioned a Noah and…the Noah of Wrath… Arthur realized this as well as he took a step in front of Alfred, glaring at the girl.

"Ah, so the Earl wasn't wrong! There are those people here!" she exclaimed as she jumped off the umbrella and to the ground with ease. The remaining level three dipped its head in a hurry, not wanting to blow up as its more powerful counterpart did.

"Shall we play a game?" Road asked as she watched for their reaction.

"What are you really here for?" Lavi bit out, still angered at the violation of his memories back in the ark.

"Just a little fun," Road answered, smirking. "And some answers from those three over there."

"What's there to ask?" Alfred replied, hand tightening on his rifle as Matthew watched his older brother carefully. "We're just off to help a friend."

Road laughed, shaking her head. "You can't think I'm that stupid do you?" she asked as Alfred narrowed his eyes. "I'm the eldest of the Noah! These things don't escape me!" She turned to the exorcists who also had their hands on their own innocence. "Do you know who you've been traveling with?"

"Does it matter? All they want is to help a friend," Allen replied harshly as Road made a clicking noise under her breath.

"Oh Allen, you seemed to have not let go of that martyr complex of yours," she said with a frown as Allen growled. "These people," she began with a smirk before Arthur lifted his gun and shot once towards her. Taking no regards to the gun shot at her, she continued. "These people are not hu-!"

"That's enough da?"

A cold wind passed through the field as Road backed off cautiously, noticing the innocence sparks on her skin when the wind hit her.

The others stared as Arthur lowered his pistol, eyes narrowed. A tall figure with a scarf wrapped around his neck loosely walked up slowly, a childish smile on his lips as he nodded, while pausing in thought before speaking again. "Mm, that's enough da."

"Oh, another one of you," Road growled as he smiled at her then dipped his head slightly to the exorcists.

"Ivan Braginski," he said a hint of a savage killing glint in his eyes. "A pleasure to meet you da."

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**(1): This is before the Bloody Sunday strip, probably the thing that cracked him finally. He's still creepy but not to that point in WW2. **

**(2): …Misty Wind? Is that correct? **

**So Russia appears! I'm so excited to write for him. 8D And as for Road…well, I hope she's characterized well. ^^; **

**So about this chapter, I got an idea from ****Cestrescir**** about Komui, so…yeah. I hope this makes up for the lack of the Black Order throughout the last chapter. **


	8. Wondering

**FFFF…I read the new DGM chapter…Kanda…why are you so angsty? Anyway, sorry this took so long, writer's block struck. But, I finally managed to finish! I hope you guys all enjoy! **

**Thank you for reviewing! Seriously, it makes me so happy! **

**Disclaimer: …You know, after the eighth time, I think I made my point…**

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**A people's literature is the great textbook for real knowledge of them. The writings of the day show the quality of the people as no historical reconstruction can. - Edith Hamilton 1867-1963, American Classical Scholar, Translator**

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A cold chill ran through the field as Ivan reached into his heavy overcoat and slowly pulled out a metal pole. **(1) **He glanced up briefly, frowning as he shook his head. "General Winter is a good ally," he said to no one in particular as he continued to stare up at the sky. "But I don't like the cold."

Alfred, wary around the older country, lowered his rifle. "How did you know we were here?" he asked as Ivan shrugged lightly, his smile returning instantly.

"I got a message from someone while I was in Saint Petersburg," he replied as the American stared at the Russian, with a look of, "Bullshit", clearly imprinted on his face. "So I decided to come out to welcome the guests to my home! However…" he paused, staring at Road. "An unwelcome guest came as well."

Road shook her head, her eyes still playful, however the playfulness was slowly disappearing for a cruel smirk. "As unwelcome as I might be," she began, spinning her umbrella. "Would you like to play a game with me?"

Ivan laughed, rather childishly, his weapon gleaming in the dim light. "Unfortunately, no, I can't play little girl," he replied as he stood his ground. "As much as I'd _like_ to, I have no time." At those words, the cold wind picked up again, wrapping around the group and when Road could open her eyes again from the howling wind, they were gone.

The Noah of dreams pouted before hopping on her umbrella again. "Hey Relo," she called as the umbrella made a noise. "What do you think the Earl wants with those countries?" she asked as Relo made another noise.

"How should I know? That's what Master Earl knows, not me," it replied as she laughed, nodding.

"You're right," she said while snapping her fingers, calling for her door. "He was around for 7000 years, enough to realize who these people were…and thus, in turn, we inherit the memories of the past Noah and know of their existence…" She smiled almost wryly, shaking her head. "Besides me of course, since I was never reborn after the 14th's betrayal." **(2)**

"Mistress Road…" Relo began as Road laughed, waltzing through her door.

"I still hold those memories Relo," she sang as the door closed. "And I can't wait to play with them again."

The cold wind finally died down, leaving the group standing in the exact same area they were before. "What was the bloody point of that?" Arthur snapped testily as Ivan smiled.

"If you'd like," he began, storing his pole inside his jacket. "You can take that up with General Winter."

Arthur then blanched, shaking his head as Ivan's smile turned into a small smirk. The Russian then turned his head towards the exorcists, eyes watching their movements.

"You have my name," he said with a childish smile. "But I don't have yours. Do you mind telling me?"

"Allen Walker, it is also a pleasure to meet you," the British boy said, holding out his hand and somewhat oblivious from the aura surrounding the Russian man. Ivan shook it, still smiling as Allen let go, introducing the rest of his friends.

"This is Lenalee Li," he said as the girl smiled politely, more wary of the man whose aura she could feel much more clearly. "Lavi, and B…I mean Kanda."

The Bookman Junior dipped his head towards Ivan who nodded, then smiled at Kanda. The Japanese boy scowled, turning his head away, surprising Ivan. It wasn't often he found someone willing to put up a fight. There _**was**_ Poland but he had lost in the end.

A cruel smirk curled around his mouth as he turned the other way, towards his capital. Well, this would be fun.

Ivan led the way to St. Petersburg, humming a small song under his breath. "Alfred," he called as the country jolted to attention. "I heard your country had a civil war."

Alfred tensed as he nodded stiffly. "Yes, we did. We made it out okay, thank you for your concern," he grounded out as Ivan shook his head.

"Nyet, it wasn't concern on my part," he replied as Alfred stopped in his footsteps.

"What are you talking about?"

Ivan smiled as he glanced at Arthur and Matthew. "It was just information," he said as Alfred clenched his fists, tempted to punch the taller man. _If I did though, _he thought as he sent a dark look at the man, _I would probably find that metal pole up where the sun doesn't shine very soon. _

Allen walked sideways over to Arthur who was walking behind Alfred cautiously, watching the American's movements in case he tried something stupid. "Who is he?" he almost hissed as Arthur glanced at him.

"He's a representative of the Russian court. Be careful of what you say around him. He may be smiling but I have never met a crueler person," he replied, eyes narrowed. France, although beaten severely by Russia, still was concerned for the country's sake. He wondered why the bloody frog still would be concerned, if even at all.

Was Russia's condition really that bad?

Snow began to fall as the eight man group walked into the capital. Lavi noticed this and raised his hand. "Weren't we on the outskirts of Russia?" he asked as Ivan glanced at him then nodded. "Then how are we here, at the capital so quickly?"

"When you're a native," Ivan replied, tucking his scarf a little more tightly around his neck. "You know where to go and how to get there quickly."

Walking into the palace, Ivan was quickly greeted by palace officials as he motioned to them while talking in Russian. The other seven waited patiently as the Russian walked over to the group. "You're allowed to stay in my home before we go to China," he said with a satisfied smile.

"Shouldn't we just go straight to China?" Allen asked as Ivan turned to look at him curiously. "We're already spent more than a few months on the road. I'm sure that your friend needs help as it is."

"However, if you were to push yourself too hard," Ivan retorted smoothly, his smile never fading. "Then you wouldn't get anywhere from the lack of energy." Glancing at the exorcists with a nod, he turned around and went forward. "It takes a bit to get to my neighbor Yao. We will rest for the night."

Lenalee repressed a shiver as she took a step back. This was a dangerous man, for sure. She still couldn't believe that they would be traveling with him. Kanda seemed to share her sentiments, his hand never leaving his innocence blade for a moment.

Ivan pushed open the ornate door to his home as he glanced around then smiled. "Toris! There you are!" The man jumped where he stood then turned around quickly, nodding to the other man now inside the house.

"Mr. B-Braginski," the man, Toris, stuttered as he took a step back. "I didn't expect you back so early."

Ivan laughed as he tugged off his heavy overcoat, handing it to him. "Well, I did have a few setbacks along the way, but all is fine now. The exorcists are here and I expect for you to treat them well."

Toris managed a stiff smile as he ushered the small group away from the Russian who continued to climb the stairs to his private room. Once far away in the kitchen, Toris gave a loud sigh and sank down in a chair nearby, eyes closed tight as he mumbled something in his mother tongue.

"Are you alright?" Allen asked as Toris nodded, eyes still closed shut as he then managed to gather himself together and stood up, dipping his head in a polite bow.

"I'm sorry for not being able to introduce myself properly. I am Toris Lorinaitis, do you mind if I get your names?"

As both exorcists and countries introduced themselves quickly, Arthur poured himself a small drink.

"Has something been happening?" he began slowly as Toris sighed softly, glancing outside with a wistful gaze in his eyes.

"Mr. Braginski…he's slowly becoming more pressured, I can see that much, but he's hiding everything with a smile," he replied, setting down a cup of water that he had gotten for the younger country.

"I could tell," Lenalee added as she sat down also in a seat. "The air around him when we first met was very cold, as if…" she shivered, shaking her head in memory. "As if it could suck the warmth out of my body completely."

"General Winter," Toris replied with a reluctant smile as Lavi entered the conversation.

"General Winter?" the boy asked curiously, eyes wide as Toris nodded.

"A while ago, I fought with my friend, Feliks, against Ivan. I remember one of those battles," he said with almost a reminiscent look in his eyes then cautiously glanced up, lowering his voice. "It was our victory in sight, our armies knew it, we knew it and Feliks and I were celebrating…"

His voice grew almost fearful, clenching his fists tightly as he continued painting his story for the others to hear.

"_Liet!" Poland called triumphantly, rushing towards his friend who turned his horse to face him. "This is so totally awesome! Russia's, like, backing off!" _

_Lithuania laughed, nodding his head as he turned his gaze towards the horizon. Then, a small nip passed his cheek as he turned again, glancing around. "Hey, Poland, do you feel anything…different?" he asked as Poland snorted, patting Lithuania on the leg._

"_Liet, you're, like, totally dreaming. I-!" He never finished that sentence as a cold wind then blasted through the field. The men on Poland and Lithuania's armies stood no chance, either frozen where they stood or struggling out of the snow that suddenly coated the field._

_Poland sputtered something unintelligible, eyes widening as a looming figure entered the battle, sword pointed towards the duo, laughing ominously. _

"_You thought that the victory was yours…da?" Russia called out, his violet eyes gleaming in the dim light. Both Poland and Lithuania summoned their courage to the best of their abilities and shouted orders to attack. _

_A few moments later, Russia loomed over Lithuania, a childish smile on his lips and cruelty in his gaze. "You look smart," he said as Lithuania's gaze spun, still disoriented. Russia placed a hand on his arm and tugged him up roughly. "I'll take you home, to live with me!" __**(3)**_

Although he didn't mention his country name or Poland's own, Toris still trembled as he nodded his head at the conclusion of his story. "My homeland, Lithuania, is now part of Russia and I am what you can call a tribute to that."

"What happened to your friend Feliks?" Matthew asked softly as Toris managed a small smile towards him.

"He's back at his home, I was only required to come here," he replied as the small group stayed silent. Lavi was running through his mental history books as he stared at the man now asking the group if they wanted to eat, his eyebrow now arched high.

What _was_ this nagging feeling that kept assaulting him throughout this mission? He hadn't been as observant as a Bookman ever since he joined the Order. It had always been 'fight Akuma and record the hidden war'. He never had a real _chance _to examine the 'outside world', as some of the scientists put it wryly, as much as he used to. _So, why is this bothering me so much? _He wondered with a wide look in his expression. _The fact that so many things seem to be off about them?_

Remembering some of what he stored away before, he excused himself to a corner in the kitchen to mull over his thoughts as he pulled out his little booklet. The others weren't as concerned with the details. He grinned at that, remembering Kanda eloquently telling him on the way here to "Shut the fuck up and keep walking forward."

He promptly had tripped on a rock right after he said that, causing Allen to laugh at him as Kanda tried to murder him.

Lavi thumbed through the pages, stopping at the section marked Russia and read through it briefly. Currently under the rule of Alexander the Second, Russia as a country had proven itself after beating France during the Napoleonic Wars.

He closed his eyes, shutting the book with an 'fwap', leaning against the back of wall. He remembered how Arthur, Alfred, Francis, Matthew even Ivan had introduced themselves, whether through others or by themselves. They were all representatives of their respective countries but all with innocence fragments…

Supervisor Epsteine had tried to say something to them only for Alfred to conveniently interrupt them. All of the others, Lavi mused thoughtfully, had some sort of excuse behind their actions.

Who was Honda Kiku exactly and why were the others so intent on saving him?

"Having fun reading?" A voice whispered as Lavi jumped, the booklet falling out of his hands. Backing up backwards, he stared at the Russian who smiled still. "Be careful of what you read though," he said slowly, his smile never faltering for a moment. "It could get you somewhere you don't want to be."

His words held a warning, a cold glare in his eyes although his words were sounded cheerful as Lavi nodded stiffly, making his way back to where the group was chatting and eating their dinner. Calls for Lavi to sit down and join them filled the warm kitchen as Ivan was tempted to join them for a moment.

As he made his way over, a crinkling noise caught his attention as he blinked curiously, stooping down. It was the red head's book. He glanced through it briefly then with a small smirk, opened the furnace and easily tossed it in, taking pleasure in watching it burn.

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**(1): So I read the manga of Hetalia, and Russia actually got his pipe from Germany when they made their alliance. So…I sort of had to improvise. **

**(2): In Night 183 I believe, the Earl was explaining about the role of the Noah and Road states that she, out of the 13 Noah, was the only one not reincarnated after the 14****th****'s death. **

**(3): I'm referring to Russo-Polish War (1654–1667), in which the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth lost land to Russia. Of course, the final line in the whole flashback is from a strip. **

**Creepy Russia for the win~ I had a lot of fun writing for him, even though it took a while to write it. Ugghh, I still feel like my grammar and spelling are both off though. *kicks writer's block* Anyway, I'll get the 9****th**** chapter out as soon as possible!**


	9. Resolution

**I…am so tired. It's 4:05 AM. And I'm uploading right now. Haha. I must be crazy. **

**You know, if I stop with the disclaimers, I think they get the point…or is the lack of sleep just getting to me? **

**ALSO THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING. All of you get cookies for helping me get to 55 reviews! It means so much to me that I got this far! Considering my longest fic was Thanatos and I gave up on that one, this is really an improvement for me. A-As sad as that might be.  
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**I like this chapter, no…well, not really, but yeah. 8D**

**Edit: Sorry for deleting this about 238947 times. I keep noticing mistakes. *FAIL*  
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**Every human mind is a great slumbering power until awakened by a keen desire and by definite resolution to do. - Edgar F. Roberts**

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Japan breathed heavily, flopped against a rock while wiping the blood off his forehead. He winced at the sting of the forehead cut before pressing a relatively clean rag to his head. That was the fourth level four Akuma he defended against his men and his blade had broken too. Not that he minded, but he liked a break now and then. He _was _an old man after all.

Lately however, whenever he tried to rest, he was constantly bothered by a strange dream, one of a young boy who couldn't stop screaming. Japan had tried to muffle the screams in his dream with his arms but failed miserably. When he woke up, fragments of that dream would still remain with him and hinder his fighting skills.

That little boy…was he dead? Still here, among the few survivors of his people?

He didn't know, but to all the deities above, he prayed that the little boy survived so that he might be able to talk to him one day.

Hearing a loud shriek of laughter, he glanced around rather wildly. A naginata was hidden in the depths of the broken home, the blade shining in the dim light.

Without hesitation, he pulled out the weapon and raced forward, expertly swinging the weapon. **(1)**

If he had the time of course…

Kanda's head was _killing _him. At first he wrote it off as a headache then it slowly grew into a throbbing pain that he had to rest for a bit before marching forward, ignoring all protests. He was having dreams again as well…about _her_, about that man, and…

_Alma…_

He pressed his hand to his forehead as he slowly opened his eyes, blinking at the bright sun. Glancing around, he sat up abruptly, eyes wide. This wasn't the forest of bamboo they were in.

Where were they?

He reached behind him, groping for his ponytail only to realize his hair was down. Mumbling something about hair ties and not to touch his hair _ever_, he glanced around him.

The room was decorated with ornaments with Chinese characters written on a few items. The walls were a warm red color as he stared at the bed he was in. They were in China?

The door slid open as Lenalee came in, giving him a cup of tea. "Here," she said softly, setting down the cup of tea. "Wang xiansheng told me to give this to you." Kanda nodded his thanks before glancing at the Chinese girl. **(2)**

"We're in China?" he asked slowly as she nodded, smiling widely.

"It's why I'm using Chinese, homeland and all," she admitted as he shook his head at that.

"No, I mean, when did we get here?" he growled as she nodded.

"A day ago," she replied, and then frowned at him. "You…you were asleep for the longest time again. Kanda are you sure nothing's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," he replied gruffly, sipping some of the bitter tea. She looked as if she wanted to question him again but thought better of it, stepping outside the sliding door. Pausing as she did so, she glanced inward at him.

"By the way," she called as Kanda glanced towards her. "Have you seen Lavi's booklet? He's been missing it for awhile."

In the hallway, Wang Yao dusted unseen dust off of the corner of his sleeve before glancing at the visitors sitting in his yard through a window.

Initially, receiving a message from England made him almost want to tear it up and spit on it, until Korea had saved the message, reading it out loud to him, as shaky as his English was. As he did so however, he almost wanted to rip it up until China glared at him, shaking his head.

_What_, he thought dryly as he stared into the distance, _what gave these men the arrogance to prance through the world with the ease they do? _

Feeling the affects of old age upon his body, he sighed softly, staring into the distance. Why did he even agree to such a proposition in the first place? Saving Japan, the child who had easily left him after all he did…

He bit back a bitter laugh, shaking his head. He had no right over Japan, no one did. He was his own country. Turning on his heel, he shook his head. No matter, he was willing to save Japan from himself. He had to in the end, because of their relationship, no matter how frayed it was. Japan was still his little brother.

Lenalee Li had stepped out of the room, sliding the door shut before almost crashing into Yao. "Ah!" She bowed rapidly. "Yuanliang wo de culu xiansheng. _Excuse my rude behavior_," she apologized as he shook his head, patting the girl on her shoulder.

"Zhe shi meiyou wenti de. _It is no problem,_" he replied with a smile as Lenalee started to move out of the way then stopped, glancing back at the elder.

"…Shi…Ta hai hao ma? _Is he alright?_" she asked timidly as Yao frowned, shaking his head.

"Ni de pengyou... Wo bu zhidao daodi you she me budui, dan ta… _Your friend...I do not know exactly what is wrong with him but..._" he admitted slowly but sent her a smile nonetheless as the girl's expression grew pensive.

Lenalee glanced inside the room where Kanda was sitting up straight, staring into the distance then nodded at him.

"You're very easy to talk to," she said softly, switching back to English as Yao smiled, nodding.

"I took care of many of my siblings…I should be like that right aru?" he replied as she laughed then stepped around him.

"Then," she said lightly, bowing, "excuse me for now."

Yao nodded towards her then slowly made his way outside of the hallway, glancing outside towards the four sitting under one of the garden tea houses **(3)** then gritted his teeth, stepping towards them.

"Yao!" Ivan called, waving over the elder country. "What took you so long?"

Yao waved his hand in the air aimlessly. "Things aru," he replied vaguely, sending a bitter glare at Arthur who stared back at him, eyes narrowed. "One of the exorcists was sick so I put him in the guest chamber aru."

"Really?" Matthew piped up, eyes wide with concern. "I didn't think that he was that…"

Yao sat down, eyes closed for a brief moment before staring at them. "They don't know aru."

This sounded like an accusation as Alfred tensed. "Well they shouldn't," he shot back, fists clenched. "If they did then everything would change."

"How is that?" the country asked calmly as Arthur stepped in, waving Alfred down.

"We've always kept our existence from our people hidden," Arthur said as Yao folded his arms, staring at him directly.

Some might call it overdramatic on his part, but he would not forgive the man who poisoned _**his**_ people, slaughtering them and taking his little brother. He may be still weak, but he had his pride.

"But they are allies in saving Kiku. Shouldn't they deserve the truth?" he retorted smoothly as Ivan stepped in.

"Before we left my home, the redhead, Lavi, was already figuring out bits of who we are," he said cheerfully as he pulled out a ripped piece of paper. "I found this in his room."

Ivan smiled as he placed down the piece of paper. "I burned his book but it turned out that he kept parts of it in his pockets. He is quite a clever boy," he commented offhandedly as the others all had almost the same reaction.

"Why did you burn his book?" Matthew nearly squeaked as the Russian smiled but didn't answer as the Canadian continued. "He was going crazy, looking for it in the kitchen! Toris had to reassure him if he found it that he would send it to him as soon as he could."

Alfred nodded to his younger brother's statement. "I mean, I'm all for covering our identities for as long as we can, but Ivan, wasn't that too much?" he asked as Ivan made a clicking noise under his breath.

"You two are too naïve," he replied, eyes narrowed slightly. "The boy is a Bookman in training."

Alfred snorted, tossing his head. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Arthur rolled his eyes, whacking the boy upside on the head. "Git! Don't you even know what a Bookman does?" he snarled in irritation as Alfred whined from the sting through his head.

"A Bookman," Yao interrupted smoothly, glancing at Arthur who relented the explaining to him, "Is a man or woman who travels through the world, recording history aru. As they do, they learn more about the world than a normal human would aru." He tapped his head, one arm still folded across his chest. "They have a perfect memory as well, although…" he paused, shaking his head. "Why he wears an eye patch is beyond me aru."

"So…when learning about history, they would eventually learn about us?" Alfred asked, eyebrows both raised high. "How does that work?"

Yao almost smiled at the younger nation's question. It sounded like something Korea or…Hong Kong would ask him when they were younger.

Well…they couldn't really now, could they?

He mentally shook his head, continuing with his explanation. "We're in history, whether we want to or not," he replied as Alfred mulled over this for a moment.

"Which is why I burnt his book. You get it da?" Ivan asked as Alfred glared at him.

"Of course! But you still shouldn't have burnt his book," Alfred said with a frown as Ivan glanced at him with a mixed expression.

"So, you say that you want our secret hidden," the Russian began as Alfred watched him carefully. "But you approve of the red head's book?"

"It's not like you had any right to burn it," the American retorted as Ivan laughed, a strangled sound, one that sounded obviously forced as he looked at the American with some sort of amazement in his eyes.

"Alfred, have you forgotten you are not in America anymore?" he asked as Alfred glared at him, about to give him a piece of his mind before Yao cut in, glaring at them both.

"Back to the original point," he growled as Alfred glanced elsewhere. "It won't seem well if we hide the truth from them aru," he said as England glanced at him, eyes narrowed.

"Even if we tell them, will they believe you? Won't they stop this mission because they feel as if they are led on a wild goose chase?" he asked as Yao glanced at him with disdain in his gaze.

"How will we know until we try? As Ivan had said, the Bookman already is onto whom we are aru," he replied, folding his arms as Arthur stared at him. Yao stood up from his seat then strolled back into his home. "Make yourselves comfortable aru," he called, waving his hand as the other four sat there in silence. "We leave for Korea in a few hours."

Matthew glanced at the other three countries before swallowing his fear and speaking up. "…I…I think Mr. Wang is right," he spoke timidly at Alfred glared at him.

"Not you too Mattie!" the country exclaimed as Matthew shivered at the look his older twin was sending him.

"I-If we hide the truth, how will we explain it when the truth is finally shoved in their faces?" he asked as Alfred's glare dropped a few notches.

"True…but…they still wouldn't believe it anyway!"

Matthew stared at the floor, wishing he had Kumajiro with him. "That's what you think," he mumbled to himself.

Allen and Lavi, the latter distressed about his book, were sitting around in the garden, Allen trying to calm Lavi down. "I'm sure that no one took it," he said as Lavi tightened his fists.

"Moyashi, they took everything! Even the scraps in my _pants_! My _**PANTS**_!" he exclaimed, shooting up from his sitting position. "It's like they were on to me or something, or that creepy bastard Ivan did something to my book!"

"I…I'm not sure you want to say that out loud, no matter how much I might agree with you," Allen replied with a wry look on his face while ignoring the Moyashi bit.

"Moyashi, that book was the first thing that Old man Panda gave to me! It was his way of saying that I was closer to becoming a Bookman!" Lavi protested as Allen stared at him in almost shock. This was the first, seeing Lavi react so violently about something. "I…just can't believe I lost it…"

"…Lavi…" Lavi turned towards him, eyes lit with fury.

"Before I lost my book, I was wondering about something," he confided as Allen blinked. "It was about them, how they all have innocence even though there's only one hundred and nine in the world."

As he said this, Yao could be seen walking towards Kanda's room, his arms tucked into his sleeves. Bumping into Lenalee, he blinked then smiled. "How is your friend?" he asked curiously as she nodded, her arms behind her back.

"Much better thank you," she replied as he stared at her with an unreadable expression in his eyes. "…Um…"

"Come here," he said suddenly, taking her wrist and walking briskly down the hallway.

What was he doing? He wondered that as he took the girl to the outer gardens where he was sure no one would be there.

No, no, he knew, he was going to reveal a time old secret to an ally. It was only _right_, _**fair**_ that they know. If one holds secrets against allies, then they fall because they are unstable.

Among the lotus flowers, he turned around, eyes watching the girl, gauging her reaction. "Your friend has been wondering about us aru," he said softly, deciding to speak in English, as Lenalee blinked then nodded, a slight embarrassed look on her face. He smiled, shaking his head. "He is a Bookman, I understand that much," he said with a small grin as she smiled back at him.

"Wáng xiānshēng, what did you call me out here for?" she finally asked after a long bout of silence. He smiled stiffly then nodded, pulling his arms out of his sleeves. He bent his head towards the skies, his smile drifting away as he then turned his gaze back to the girl.

"What I'm about to tell you is something that we have guarded for a long time against our people, for fear of their reactions," he said slowly as he nodded, affirming that statement. "We were right to do so however, you and your friends are our allies. We cannot keep running forever away from the truth."

"Wh…What are you…?" she began to ask as he held up a hand to stop the questions.

He then smiled at her, his age seeping into his features and his smile turning more…gentler, kinder than what she had seen before. Lenalee blinked rapidly at the man who was so easy to talk to. This man was so regal…and ancient…different than what she had just seen before, earlier too.

The realization hit her _hard. _

_He was China. _

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**(1): So, I was browsing through the Hetalia LJ community and stumbled on a post that said that Japan's preferred weapon was a naginata. The reason was something along the lines of Japan being girly. I liked it so it's in here. CREDITS TO THE PERSON WHO SAID THAT. **

**(2): I'm not sure what dialect this is. ;____; I don't mean to offend people when I just threw a blanket over Lenalee saying that she's speaking Chinese because Google translator was like that. Also, if it's wrong, I apologize again. **

**(3): I...have no idea what the crap that's called. Would someone like to inform me? =n=;;  
**

**So yeah. I TOLD you I had a reason for liking this chapter, beside it being the longest I've ever written. *grins stupidly then toddles off to sleep***


	10. Thoughts

**GOD THIS TOOK FOREVER. I'm sorry, I got really distracted by a role play group I'm in. Haha...ha...*bows* SORRY.  
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**I love to lose myself in other men's minds. When I am not walking, I am reading. I cannot sit and think; books think for me. - Charles Lamb (1775-1834, British Essayist, Critic)**

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"…B…But that can't be…" she murmured as China gently picked up a fallen flower, staring at it. "How…?" Lenalee stared at the floor, trying to gather her thoughts as she shook her head, eyes shut. "I don't understand. So then…all of you are…countries? How is that possible?"

China hesitated before answering slowly, eyes closed. "You're asking questions," he said softly, eyes creased as Lenalee tried to piece together her answer. "That I have been asking for the longest time myself aru."

"I thought there was something…familiar…I haven't been here in a long time, but Ge-ge would tell me about it, and it felt like a second home to me. Then when I talked to you…" she paused, opening her mouth to speak then closed it but spoke after a minute of silence, "You seemed so easy to talk to, so…" She waved her hand, trying to make her point.

"Your brother, he is… Komui correct?" he asked as she nodded, a small smile now appearing on her lips.

"Ge-ge…he always…was very protective of me," she said as China snorted dryly, shaking his head. "I don't know…how I would repay him."

"I took care of many of the Asian nations, including one that we are going to in a few hours aru. As long as he knows you love him, it should be enough for him aru," he said gently, patting her shoulder as she smiled widely at him, nodding her head. That smile disappeared after a bit as China sighed, directing her to a tea house next to a lake edge.

Lenalee stared at him before lowering her gaze. "I…why me?" she asked as he smiled slightly.

"You seem to be the best to tell at the moment, the one that I can most relate to aru," China admitted as Lenalee nodded.

"Then…I suppose I shouldn't tell anyone else yet?"

He nodded at that, taking his hands out of his sleeves. "I told the others that we should tell you and your friends, however, I feel a bit ashamed that I cannot tell the others aru. It feels as if I am going back on my word aru."

She shook her head, frowning. "I am grateful that you told me sir, but I do agree with what you said, about not telling the others."

His eyebrow rose as a court lady brought them both a cup of tea. Stretching out his hand, he picked it up, sipping at his tea lightly. "What makes you say that?" he asked as she stared at her hands tucked in her lap.

"…Allen should hear the truth from England and Lavi…Lavi from everyone. Kanda…is the one I'm most worried for right now," Lenalee mumbled from her sip of tea as her eyes softened.

"Ah…from his wounds."

"Now that I know, do you think you can explain to me what's happening?" she asked, almost panicked as he shook his head.

"I don't know myself, Japan would be the only one who knows the answer aru," he replied as she deflated visibly.

"…I'll be sure to ask him."

As they boarded a ship to Korea, Yao turned to Ivan who was enjoying the gentle spring breeze. "Why are you going along aru?" Ivan turned to his southern neighbor, smiling slightly.

"I wasn't going to go myself," he said with a glance towards him. "I had visited Japan recently, about…ten or so years ago, it didn't seem that bad." Yao sighed at that, shaking his head at him as he continued. "But Kirkland sent me a telegram and after my Czar read it, he ordered for me to go and help a fellow nation in need." Ivan's face twisted into a wry expression as he shook his head. "One would think that he would take care of our people instead."

"I see…" Yao had no response to that besides that as he shifted slightly off his left foot he had been leaning on.

The rest of the ride consisted of Alfred acting like an idiot, Kanda trying to kill him, Matthew trying to hold him back, and Lavi scribbling something down on a piece of paper he took from a shop before they left.

The rest were tying to rest in the midst of the noise.

"And you, Yao. Why are you going?" Ivan asked after the boat docked in what the locals call Busan.

Yao gave him a long glance as he smiled slightly. "He is family aru. No matter how far he went away."

"Which is why Hyung is so softhearted!" The small group turned to look at a young boy standing near them with an older girl standing near him, bopping him on the head. The boy whined, grabbing his throbbing head. "Noona! What the heck did you do that for?"

The girl rolled her eyes as she bowed towards the group. "Welcome to Korea."

Inside the capital city of Seoul, the two siblings had allowed the group to get comfortable before planning out the final plans to enter Japan. "So this is Korea?" Alfred asked as Yong-soo grinned, nodding.

"_Besides_ that," Min-ji interrupted before the American could continue. "What are you going to do from here on out?"

Arthur nodded as he set down the tea the siblings had given him. "With the exorcists' help," he said as the others leaned towards him to listen. "We will begin our mission from the closest we can get to Edo. From the last telegram Kiku had managed to send, he had been running towards Edo so we will meet him in a certain area and fend ourselves off the best we can until we can get him out."

Ivan's eyebrow rose. "That does not sound as foolproof I had expected from you," he chided as Arthur nodded.

"I know, and I'm a bit worried myself," the British man admitted with a nod, "But the most important thing as of now is to get Kiku out of there."

"One thing though," Yong-soo butted in as Min-ji tried to get him to shut up. He shook her off, staring at them. "What happens when this is all over? Wouldn't he try to take over? He had already been trying to take over Korea several times **[1]**, what stops him after we help him?"

"Right now," Allen rebutted, staring at the young boy who stared at him back. "It's more important to focus on saving Mr. Kiku."

"True," Yong-soo admitted as he held up his ridiculously long sleeves in a shrugging manner. "But I'm trying to protect my home from him. You can't blame me for being a bit paranoid. After all," Yao immediately whacked himself in the face as Min-ji groaned. "Paranoia originated from me!"

Min-ji punched her brother, glaring at him as Yong-soo held his head tightly, whining. "Paranoia does not originate from you," she growled as he laughed through a hiss of pain.

"Noona, you're such a jerk sometimes," he teased as she had half a mind to strangle him, seen by the strangling motion towards his neck.

"Show some respect towards your elders aru!" Yao snapped, a bit annoyed as Yong-soo grinned at him but quieted after the other countries glared at him.

"In any case, there is a ship prepared at a dock edge, towards the closest we can get it towards Japan," Min-ji spoke, eyes closed as she remembered details. "The captain just asks that he turn back as soon as he can, to prevent any damage to the ship.

"Thank you," Arthur said stiffly as she smiled somewhat forced, nodding her head as she got to her feet, calling orders in Korean to the servants outside.

"You should go soon," she spoke without turning around as she slid open the door and left outside. Yong-soo sighed, shaking his head.

"Sorry about her," he apologized as Lavi blinked, staring at him.

"Why are you apologizing?" he asked as Yong-soo frowned, shaking his head.

"…My Noona is wary of all foreigners. She's helping you guys because she trusts Hyung's judgment." He smiled slightly, nodding his head in their direction. "I do too. But, not just because of Hyung." Lenalee joined the conversation, nodding her apologies as her curiosity got the better of her.

"Why is that?" she asked as Yong-soo smiled at her, flapping his oversized sleeves.

"As much as I don't like Kiku, we're still family…you know…we kind of have to stick together," Yong-soo replied, looking older than his age for a brief moment before smiling at them. "Want to try some kimchi? It originated from me!"

As the younger of the two Korean siblings dragged the exorcists off, Yao sat himself next to the elder sister, sitting in her yard. "…You're worried aru," he poked as she sighed, shaking her head.

"Oppa."

Yao blinked, staring at her. The Korean girl shifted uneasily then stood up, her hanbok fluttering in the wind. "I heard something," she said as Yao made to stand up but she shook her head. "The European countries' dignitaries came to my king…they were talking about the Black Order."

"What about them?" Alfred called from afar, joining them with Arthur at his side, as she glared at him but continued.

"Not all are like the children you're with right now," she said, caution in her tone. "…If…If the Black Order hears that we are countries, then they will kill Kiku."

"What?!" Arthur spluttered eyes wide as she nodded solemnly, brown eyes watching the others. "They can't just kill a country, the people would die as well!" he nearly yelled as Min-ji glared at him.

"That's the point, if they learn that Kiku is Japan, they will kill Japan to kill the Akuma!" she snapped angrily as Arthur shook his head.

"But that doesn't make sense!" Arthur protested still, causing Alfred to stare at him. "They would kill all of us to do that!"

"Only the country with the most Akuma," she cut off, clenching her fists. "The Asian Black Order branch mentioned it to my brother and me on their last visit here." She sent them a wry glance. "There are a few who know of our existence."

"So it is more important than ever to save Kiku aru," Yao muttered as Min-ji nodded.

"I wanted to warn you Oppa. Before anything and before you get there of course," she said slowly as Yao nodded his thanks while standing to his feet. His smile was completely wiped off, eyes narrowed as he moved towards the door.

"Where is your port?" he asked as Min-ji smiled slightly before calling in Korean to Yong-soo.

"베가 어디 야?" she asked as the boy paused in his feeding Allen kimchi **[2]**. The boy's face was bright red from the hot pepper cabbage as he darted around for some water.

"근처에 있어요," he replied waving his hands as Min-ji sighed, shaking her head.

"Let's go, we'll take you now," she ordered as she gave Allen a cup of water.

Both Yong-soo and Min-ji watched as the boat took off as Yong-soo glanced at his older sister, taking her hand. "Hyung will be alright…right?" he asked as she smiled at him, nodding.

"It's Oppa. He can't be taken down so easily," she replied, trying to soothe her little brother's fears. She had a hard time forcing the smile on her own face as the boat disappeared into the sea.

Allen, avoiding the others for a bit, climbed to the mast, and sat down, his left hand balancing on his chin, his right clinging to the wood under him. He was headed to Japan again, back to the place where he had almost lost his life half way there only to return, more powerful than before. His hand fell to his heart, eyes closed as his innocence enhanced heart glowed a faint green.

Did he regret it after all this time? He wondered about that as he stared up into the sky, the ship moving quickly through the choppy waters. No….even with the fourteenth, he still had a purpose to achieve, to go forward as an exorcist.

His thoughts trailed back to the men below him, the group that Lavi had growing suspicions about. Lavi had told him everything that he had learned and guessed so far. Pulling out a sheet of crumbling paper, he stared at it, starting to connect the lines.

Each man had claimed to be a representation of each country, a dignitary, a noble of some sorts, just someone important to the sake of that country. His eyes fluttered closed as he paused in thought, trying to come up with some sort of idea to cover such a coincidence.

The Im siblings were both important officials inside the Korean government, Francis was also key to the French government. Arthur had relations to the Queen, all of them were important officials besides Alfred. From what Lavi had told him however, Alfred was present at all the meetings that his government had and was also an important official.

Now if that wasn't bullshit, Allen didn't know what was. It wouldn't be possible, why would they let their most important officials go off into the yonder to save one man? And so many too…there had to be something behind it.

There were so many things wrong with this mission, the objective, the men traveling with them, everything! Komui knew nothing and Lenalee had been avoiding the group as of late, just replying with her normal, "Everything's fine Allen!"

Everything was _not _fine Lenalee.

As Allen dug deeper into his thoughts, he stumbled upon a small gnawing fact. Mr. Kirkland…he had seemed so familiar to him. But he had never met the man before so why…?

That feeling of nostalgia…

Could it be?

Somewhere in his mind, it clicked.

This man…was his home…

"Ah, there you are."

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**[1]: So, considering I'm Korean, I'm biased. Obviously. Haha. Anyway, Japan actually invaded Korea a lot during their history together. It's kind of funny actually. **

**[2]: IT'S SO SPICY BUT GOOD. 8D**

**So, sorry! I didn't mean to take forever but I promise to get the next chapter out sooner! If Min-ji sounds Mary-sue ish, ARRGH SORRY!  
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	11. Dreams

**So, my life got busy, with me studying for SATII and such. This is why this took forever. But I'm done! And I hope you guys really like this! Seriously, this is probably one of the more…yeah. It's…okay. I liked it. **

**THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING. SERIOUSLY! :D  
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**There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other. - Douglas Everett (American Hockey Player)**

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"…_Did…save me! Twisted…!"_

"…_my…save…NO!"_

_**THUD! **_

The Cardinal immediately stopped his sermon, shooting a glare towards the thud as Romano Vargas blanched, helping his brother up from his collapsed position. "Oi! Feliciano!" he hissed sharply as Feliciano mumbled something incoherently, shaking his head.

A little boy and another man…why were they in so much pain…?!

"Who _are _you?" he cried out, startling the Cardinal and his older brother even more.

Romano's eyes widened as he tried to shake his brother awake. "Feliciano!" he yelled, suddenly not caring if anyone else in Mass heard.

What was wrong with his little brother?!

Later, as mass dispersed, somewhat early thanks to Feliciano, the two brothers found themselves inside the Vatican, huddled together as Feliciano helped himself to a little wine, trying to calm his frazzled nerves.

"Give me that," Romano growled, snatching the wine out his brother's hand. "I need a bit too."

After taking a sip of the wine, he then glared in Feliciano's direction. "What the HELL was that?" he snapped feverishly as Feliciano winced, shaking his head.

"Fratello…" he began softly as Romano set aside the glass with a rough motion.

"You told me about that dream you had when you were younger, about when that boy appeared," he said suddenly after a bout of silence. "Was it the same boy?"

Feliciano remembered when he was younger, about how a boy had lost his ball then noticed him standing there, and then asked him who he was. The country was a new place, one that he hadn't seen before but knew about because of Marco Polo and various other reports.

"…Yes. It was the same boy," he said after some thought as Romano kicked something with his left foot.

"Dammit! Why the fuck would that bother you again?!" he growled, violently kicking the wall as Feliciano sighed, used to his brother's foul tongue.

"I don't know Fratello…maybe it has to do with the fact that there are people heading over there now."

"Right," Romano expelled a breath. "The team to help…what's his face survive the Akuma."

Of course, the Italian brothers knew about this, seeing as in the Black Order's Central headquarters located inside the Vatican. They avoided that place however, and with good reason.

"Fratello, I'm fine, let's go get pasta okay?"

With a grunt, Romano stood to his feet, shaking his head. "No. I need to go see Leveriver."

Feliciano visibly blanched white at the mention of his name. "F-Fratello, but why? W-We don't need to see him, w-why?"

Romano was inwardly quaking in his shoes but refused to show it, clenching his fists. "They'll have answers won't they? Besides, the pope will let us in and we can demand for answers."

Romano took off, white robe fluttering behind him as Feliciano gave chase, not willing to be left behind there.

"A-Ah Fratello, wait! Don't leave me here, the Cardinal's already angry at me for falling asleep in Mass!"

On the boat heading for Japan, Allen found himself caught off guard, literally and figuratively. Trying to summon some sort of lie, Allen cursed his voice for shaking as he stood to his feet, wobbling as he did so.

"Mr. K-Kirkland!" he called as Arthur sent him a curious glance but decided not to follow with it. "What are you doing up here?"

Arthur stared out at the ocean blue with a faint hint of reminiscence in his eyes. "I enjoy the sea breeze time to time."

Allen shook his head mentally at that. There was no way. There was no way. He was just going to leave that alone and think about it some other time because he really did not need this in the way. There was no way the man in front of him was England!

He would just shove the thought away until he could think about it. Now, he just needed some sort of…question to ask him.

"Are you ever scared?" he found himself asking as Arthur stared at him again.

"Of what?" he replied as Allen returned the stare with equal force.

"Of…losing someone," he replied as he watched Arthur visibly flinch at the question. "If that was too rude then I apologize."

Arthur shook his hand and his head, showing that he was completely or somewhat at the very least, fine with it. "I am scared at times," he replied with a faint smile as Allen stared out at the sea. "Aren't you? I heard of your circumstances from your last journey to Japan."

"…It was from there I gained Crown Clown so…all wasn't lost," Allen replied with a smile, hiding the sudden throb in his heart, as he shook his head. "Lenalee considers her world to be of her friends and family, people who she cares about most in this world…I was just thinking about that…and how it must feel to lose someone in that manner."

"It is always painful when losing someone," Arthur said while suddenly remembering that day…

That day…

"_America, what is this?! What is the meaning of this?"_

"_It is what it says England. It is my declaration of Independence from you! I refuse to stay under your rule any longer!" _

"_Impudent boy, you cannot survive without me!"_

_A movement and a punch…an angry yell of pain…_

"_**WATCH **__ME ENGLAND!" _

With a lazy wave of his hand, he sat down on the mast, eyes closed. "It is always painful," he repeated as Allen sat down again, next to the man.

"You must have lost people…that you cared for."

"Lad, everyone always loses someone they care for. There is nothing you or I could do about it," Arthur replied with a dark look as Allen smiled grimly, nodding while running his fingers through his white hair.

_Mana…_

With a thud, the boat stopped as the captain barked orders in Korean to get ready and get off the ship. Staring up at the two, he motioned them down, yelling that they had to hurry in English.

"It seems that the real journey starts here…correct Allen?" Arthur asked as he grabbed a rope swinging above.

Allen activated Crown Clown, his own eye activated. "It seems that way."

The boat quickly left the port, leaving the group standing there, weapons of various sorts drawn. Slowly making their way up the port, there seemed to be a wordless agreement not to speak up, for fear to attract Akuma.

"We should head for the capital, Edo," Arthur murmured softly to the others as they nodded, quickly moving through the dark streets. Kanda felt his breath labor for a moment before he pushed it aside, rushing forward ahead of the rest of the group.

"He's there…" he murmured almost unconsciously, without him realizing it as he directed his feet in a direction where he could…

…Could feel it…?

Could feel what?

With a rush, he found himself sprinting, pursing something right ahead of him. What was it?

"_WATCH OUT!"_

"_H-Honda-dono! RUN!"_

Kanda fell down on the ground again but amid the protests continued forward, eyes narrowed. He had to know, he had to…

What drove him to this point, he wondered to himself in the back of his mind. There had to be some sort of point where the line crossed.

With a loud yell, he slashed through another Akuma as the others followed closely behind, weapons held close to their sides. Kanda seemed to be moving at some inhumane speed, as if he just had to know, just had to keep pushing forward.

An hour….several hours later, the now weary team stopped to take a breather after forcing Kanda to his senses, meaning Allen shouting BaKanda and basically instigating a fight with the Japanese boy.

"What the hell was that?!" Arthur yelled at Kanda, eyes wide and bushy eyebrows raised as Kanda glared back at him, wiping his lip from the blood clinging to it. "You rushed forward as if you had no concern for the rest of the group!"

"Fuck off asshole!" Kanda snapped back feverishly as Yao narrowed his eyes. Lenalee noticed this as Kanda stood to his feet again shakily, eyes narrowed. "Just…leave…"

Before the Japanese boy could take another step, Ivan had appeared behind him and promptly slammed his hand against his neck. "…Perhaps you'll have a cooler head when you've slept a bit…da?"

No one protested this move strangely enough as the small group decided to push through the border cities and into the heart of Edo, where Kanda had directed himself before Ivan knocked him out. Ivan lifted the boy easily on his shoulder and strode forward, metal pipe clenched in one hand, the other balancing Kanda.

"We should hurry. I doubt we'll have this veil of silence for long," the Russian man spoke again to the silent group. They nodded and moved forward.

…

Kanda was dreaming.

He was dreaming of a man who seemed older than he was, older than most people he knew were.

He was dreaming of the same man, crying out for help for his people.

His people?

Who was he?

Kanda had sworn he would get answers and yet…yet…he seemed to be getting nowhere.

What was this?

…

Kiku was dreaming as he relaxed briefly against the broken remains of a temple.

He dreamt of a small boy who suffered through synchronizing with his innocence.

He dreamt of the same boy who killed his best friend to live.

He dreamt of that same boy fighting tears as he did so.

That boy was coming.

And yet, even as he dreamed this, he could not hold back his own tears, his own overwhelming emotions.

Was he cracking slowly?

He arose to someone shaking him frantically. "Honda-dono, we have to move again," a tired voice laced with anxiety called as he got to his feet, naiginta clutched close to him. With a stiff nod, he moved forward, blade edge held closely to him.

"KEKEKEEEE!" The loud shriek permeated the silence as Kiku lifted his naiginta, ready to strike. "You thought you could hide from me forever didn't you? Well too bad for you then!" The level four shrieked, flying forward.

Kiku closed his eyes briefly, smirking just a bit before opening his eyes again, motioning his men back.

"I didn't plan on running away."

The Akuma, regardless, flew forward, fist angled towards the country's head as Kiku bent down, swinging his spear in a wide arc. Getting some distance, he pushed off his left foot, landing some ways away from the Akuma.

With a loud yell, he raced forward, blade lighting up in the dim light as he slashed down at the Akuma, leaving a long diagonal arc across its chest. The Akuma shrieked loudly, eyes wide as it stared at Kiku with a faint mix of emotions, anger and annoyance being one of them.

"You're not an exorcist."

Kiku resisted the urge to roll his eyes, instead going for his impassive mask. "It would seem so," he said with a curt nod as he angled his weapon towards the Akuma. "But I will not stop here for your questions."

Weapon flying in the air, he jabbed straight down and when the Akuma caught the weapon, ignoring the sparks up its arms. Kiku immediately yanked forward, throwing the Akuma towards him then with strength that surprised even him, lifted the Akuma high into the air and slammed him down.

Jumping into the air, he stabbed down into the Akuma's head. "You've been following me for a week," he hissed through gritted teeth. "I would know your patterns by now at the very least."

"…You damn country!" the Akuma yelled, through the innocence naiginta now buried deep in its head. It dropped every pretense of not knowing who Kiku was, shrieking it to the entire world. "The Earl should have destroyed you! You should be dead or at the very least weak enough for me to kill you!"

Kiku laughed dryly, digging the spear point in deeper. "Excuse me as I laugh, but I am Japan, the land of the rising sun. I will not fall to the Earl or you Akuma." He pulled the naiginta out, staring at the Akuma, now missing its face. "Good bye Akuma."

With a squelch that echoed through the field, the Akuma screamed and exploded. Kiku watched it explode from a safe distance before his men came up to him, each yelling if he was alright.

Suddenly caught off by a wave of nausea, he fell to his knees as another Akuma swept in, as if waiting for a chance to strike. It caught Kiku by his neck before he could breathe, before he could move for his weapon.

"Land of the rising sun? Let's see if you can last a blow to the head!" it hissed, opening its mouth wide to shoot his head off from blank range.

He wouldn't die…

Or would he…?

"SHIT! KIKU!"

"CROWN CLOWN!"

Who…?

He suddenly began to fall and fell into a warm grasp. Fingers brushed aside his hair and whispered soothingly.

This voice…

One tear escaped his eye.

"…Yao…nii-san…"

They came. They finally answered his call.

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**So. My life. I still hate you colleges. Grrr. **


	12. Secrets

**So. I have no excuse for being dead for so long. OTL. BUT. Thank you for reviewing still! I appreciate it very much. **

**Seriously, guys, you're awesome and stuff. Thanks for leaving feedback. I really, really appreciate it. **

**Now, to the actual story! 8D Hope you guys like it. =w=b  
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**To know how to wait. It is the great secret of success. - Joseph De Maistre [1753-1821, French Diplomat, Philosopher]**

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Yao had realized it first, with the air changing and the Akuma screaming. He didn't know how, exactly he knew…but he did and he had raced out in the middle of a small skirmish.

"YAO!" Lenalee had yelled, giving chase with her dark boots as Yao continued to run.

"My little brother…my little brother…" he whispered faintly as Lenalee touched his shoulder lightly.

"We'll get there in time to rescue him," she replied firmly, eyes narrowed as she moved him forward. "We will."

Japan his little brother, the boy he had cared for so many years…

His scar throbbed as he bit off the pain, ignoring it. Remember history and forget animosity…

Japan was family and family, no matter how convoluted it was China would help him out. Because, in the end, what was more important?

In the back of his mind, the more rational part of his mind, the part that helped him survive so long as a nation, he was hating himself. This was the same boy who had raised his hand against him, who left the scar still throbbing on his back.

It was easily a chance to watch him be destroyed by his own people.

Making it to the clearing, his eyes widened and every thought about leaving Japan behind to die was wiped out.

His little brother was held by one of those Akuma, his head about to be blown off.

By then, the others had caught up, Allen Walker flying forward with his innocence activated as someone shouted Kiku's name. He couldn't tell who, all he knew is that he flew forward, caught his brother as he fell and tumbled for a bit before sliding to a stop against a rock conveniently there.

"Kiku, it's alright," he crooned, not knowing what else to say, what else to…_do._

Was it truth for him to speak as he did or was he trying to reassure himself?

In either case, his brother was _alive_. The heavens be praised, his brother was ALIVE.

"Yao…nii-san…"

…

Nii-san…Big brother…that…when…

All coherent thought flew out of the ancient country's head, clutching his little brother to his chest, close to sobbing.

America had raced over, rifle aimed towards the Level four Akuma and fired, eyes narrowed. All those days out in the Wild West had done him good, his shot ringing out amid the noise and striking the Akuma in the head. Jerking out another bullet and reloading quickly, he was backed up by Matthew and Arthur who both had their own weapons raised and primed at the Akuma.

At that moment, two figures appeared above Yao and Kiku, one looking quite familiar to Ivan who immediately swung around, rifle raised and shot rapidly. Wordlessly, he raced forward, ditching the rifle while drawing his pipe in one fluid motion. He swung it towards the duo as Allen, turning his head, realized who those two were.

Eyes now lit up with caution, Allen pulled out Crown Clown, now a blade as he angled it in the light and flew forward in front of Ivan. "Road! Tyki!" he called with a small grin unlike his normal cheerful self. "What brings you here?"

Road laughed, shaking her head. "My, my Allen Walker!" she replied, hopping nimbly down the building she was on and in the process, in front of Ivan who had his pipe still drawn, a smile still settled on his face. She peered curiously at Ivan who smiled eerily, holding out his pole.

"I believe we met back at my home," he stated as a fact as Road closed her eyes briefly and nodded.

"Ivan Braginski is it?" She smiled. "We have met, right before you interrupted me from saying something rather special to the exorcists," she chided, her smile widening as Ivan's eyes narrowed.

"I would hope that you would keep your mouth shut," he growled, hands tightening. "I wouldn't want to hurt a child in such a manner."

Road laughed, holding her side as her laughter died into giggles. "Ivan, you cannot keep hiding the truth from the exorcists!" she scolded lightly as the countries' eyes narrowed. "After all, what would happen if something were to tell them? Something…" Her eyes gained a glint, smile still playful. "Or some**_one_**."

"Road, why don't you get to the point then?" the other man spoke as Road sent a smile to her brother figure, Tyki Mikk. The man continued, nodding towards the exorcists who were stark still, not wanting to say a word. "It's about time they know, and besides…" His smile tinged upwards more, turning more into a smirk. "You wanted to play a game right?"

Lavi was tense, his mind flowing together to match the pieces of the puzzle still lingering in his mind. The Noah obviously knew more than the exorcists did, which then gave them the advantage over them.

Then there was Ivan, who obviously did not approve of the information about to be divulged by Road and Tyki. So they _all _knew, or at least Ivan knew what the Noah were about to say. Lavi thought that there was a slight possibility that he could be off, that there was nothing and that Ivan was off about what they were going to say.

Somehow, deep in the corners of his mind, he doubted that very much. He sent a glance behind his shoulder and noted that the others were tense, ready to spring if the time called for it then turned his attention back to the Noah.

Still, at any rate, they were the enemy. The innocence in his hands told him that much at least.

Road smiled then nodded. "Yes that's right!" she cheered, clapping her hands with glee. "I wanted to play a game with them but he interrupted me." She motioned towards Ivan as the Russian growled softly.

She waved her hand and smiled darkly, eyes filled with malice. "Let's play a game in _my _realm shall we?" As she said this, a dark sphere formed around the exorcists and their allies but before it could complete, Alfred sprang forward, punching the Noah girl across her face.

He had been holding back, but something inside of him bubbled, a foreign voice in his head telling him if he was a damn hero then _go_ and save the people around him. That was when he acted, moving on instinct to attack the person harming people he cared about.

Guided by the gut feeling welling up inside of him, Alfred let his fist fly again, this time knocking the Noah off the ground by the force of his punch. "We're not playing any game with you," he growled threateningly, curling in his fist in case the Noah decided to try anything else.

Road rubbed at her bleeding lip, eyes silted dangerously. "You damn-!" She wasn't screwing around anymore as she held out her hand. She thought for a brief second then let a small smile flicker across her face. "You damn** _country_**!" she called at him as Alfred's face paled, glancing briefly behind him. "The great United States of America, punching a little girl like me?" She laughed as Alfred stood frozen, unable to move.

That girl was just...spouting...secrets just like that.

The battleground was silent for a brief second before Tyki jumped into the battle, punching the country across his face then threw another kick at him. Alfred managed to swerve from the leg blow, fists tightening. "You…!" he hissed as Road laughed again, a cold laughter, one that sent shivers up spines.

"Does it scare you?" she taunted, still laughing. "Your allies could turn on you now, wanting answers, hating your betrayal!"

Alfred gritted his teeth and snarled lividly, clenching his fists. "I'm a hero," he replied testily, blue eyes flared with rage. "I don't betray anyone!"

Road laughed, the laughter gaining a more high pitched tone. "Aren't you idiotic for a country? Of course you'll betray someone in your lifetime!" she called, obviously enjoying the little argument. She glanced over at the exorcists to watch their opinion, to see their reaction at being lied at.

She expected something along the lines of…well. For the longest time, they had been traveling together, lied to every moment of their journey. Sure the Black Order kept things hidden from their own, yet this, this was big, it was a lie that covered the fact that they were _**nations**_. If well timed, they would all demand answers, getting angry and frustrated, which would give Road the mental advantage.

Lavi had a shocked expression, hands patting around for some scrap of paper to note this down. He _knew_, he just _knew _in the back of his mind, that there was something wrong with the group they were traveling with. There were too many coincidences, too many strings that were yet to be unraveled from! Considering Road's words about the countries keeping the secret from them, he shook his head. Anger, emotion in general was to be pushed off for the Bookman's purpose, for recording history.

This was not the time to screw around and flirt with his anger and emotions.

Allen's face was blank, trying to process this and strangely, it made sense, especially when he glanced at Arthur whose face was contracted with fear. In all the situations, for a personification of a country to exist, it shouldn't _make _sense! It shouldn't…but it did. Because Arthur was England and thus…Allen was one of his own people.

Lenalee had a faint smile on her face because she _knew_ from her home country, from Yao, from China. It wasn't as foreign as she thought it would be.

And as for Kanda…he still was silent, he was dreaming of that man again…he still didn't know even now.

Road was surprised as she directed her attention to the exorcists. "You knew." She stomped her foot angrily. "You knew!"

Alfred decided not to ponder on this fact and charged forward, tackling the Noah head on. Falling backwards against the broken shrine, the others could hear a loud clatter and bang as Road shrieked with anger. Alfred had pinned her to the floor, about to punch again when Tyki darted in, eyes narrowed and punched through the country and out, watching Alfred's eyes widened with surprise. "Noah of Pleasure," Tyki replied to the surprised man, smirking. "I can phase through anything I want and in turn while I drag my arm out of your chest, I'll grab your heart."

Alfred glared at him about to throw him, and then froze, pain arcing through his chest. S…Shit was the Reconstruction acting up? Sparing a glance up at the Noah, Alfred breathed deeply, trying to control the pain. Tyki felt him tense and smiled slowly, wrapping his hand around the country's accelerating heart. "I'll do it…nice and slow."

"That is," Another cold voice interrupted the Noah of Pleasure. "Unless I shoot your head off first." Tyki noticed the barrel at his head, the owner, one Matthew Williams, extremely pissed. "I don't care how fast you can phase through anything, you can't be fast enough to avoid a bullet from close range," the Canadian growled angrily, eyes narrowed.

Tyki stood up slowly, dragging Alfred with him as his eyes watched the others lifting their weaponry to attack the Noah duo. He smiled slowly and nodded, tossing Alfred at Matthew who let go of his gun to catch him. Noticing that even if he and his sister took them on, it would be pointless with too many people, exorcist and country alike. Thus, a strategic retreat would suffice for now. There would be plenty of playing around later. "We'll have a fun time, exorcists, countries," he called, waving his hand. "For now, we will take our leave."

And like that, they were gone.

Trudging back to Korea was painful, Ivan carrying Kanda over his shoulder, Matthew supporting Alfred who had a dull pain in his chest still. Yao was carrying Kiku and refused to allow anyone else to carry him, as if he could not believe that his precious little brother had been in danger of all things. Arthur was thus left with the task of explaining to the other exorcists.

Damn those others…

A long silence floated throughout the crowd, as if unsure of what to say when Allen broke the silence. "…You….you're really….England," he asked with an uncertainty as Arthur sighed, shifting awkwardly.

"Yes…yes I am England, the British Empire," he said, not turning around to face them. "We are all personifications of…our respected country." Lavi was silent then turned to look at Alfred who was trying to convince Matthew to actually let go of him.

"Then he…he's America," the Junior Bookman said slowly as Arthur winced at the accusatory glare from the boy's eye.

"…Yes he is America." He turned around and faced them, stopping completely in his tracks. "You deserve answers," he said as the three stood there, expressions mixed. Lavi looked a little angry at being lied to but seemed to be getting over it. Allen looked completely confused while Lenalee looked as if she understood.

In the back of his mind, Arthur wondered why? Usually, those who knew about the country's existence would be either like Lavi or Allen…unless someone already told her…He could guess who too. "However, now is not the time to explain everything, not while there could be Akuma around the corner. We're still in danger here." He sighed, hoping that they would agree. Hopefully. "Can our explanations wait until we arrive in Korea?"

Allen promptly agreed, smiling at Arthur who then turned to Lavi. The boy stared at Arthur for a long moment and then grinned, clapping the man on his shoulder. "Sure Caterpillar! I rather not get attacked here anyway!"

Arthur smiled briefly before whacking the boy across the head. "How many times have I told you not to call me Caterpillar?" he snapped as Lavi yelped, grabbing his head in pain.

"If you are done fooling around," Ivan cut in from where he was. "We should go. Our boat is due to arrive as was our prior engagements."

In Italy, Feliciano was running after his brother who was storming ahead. "Fratello!" he cried, reaching for him. "Fratello no! Not him!"

Romano spun on his heel angrily, staring at him straight in the eye. "The last time you had a fucked up dream, besides when you were in Austria's home," Romano had no qualms at saying country's names out loud. There was no one around them anyway, "-was back then, when they were fucking around with people in the Vatican, here, in OUR home! I want answers. Why are they trying this shit again?"

Romano was a little angry. Why was it always Feliciano in EVERYTHING? Art, Grandpa Rome…but for once, he did not envy his brother. Not with the kinds of dreams he had.

"B-But Fratello…not him…not him…" Feliciano was easily bawling now, tears flooding his eyes. "H-He's scary! He hurt so many people…" Romano stared at his bawling mess of a little brother and sighed, grabbing his hand.

"I'm scared like fuck right now," he muttered darkly as Feliciano stared at him. "But that's not stopping me."

Storming right up to the guards standing side by side in front of a hallway, Romano glared at them both, although he was quaking in his boots. "Let me through," he ordered as the guards glanced at him.

"What does a child want with Inspector Leverrier?" One guard asked brusquely as Romano glared at him. The guard took notice of the glare and stared back through his visor. "Well?"

"Romano Vargas. Now. Let. Me. Through." The other guard's eyes widened and whacked the other guard in the back.

"Idiot! It's them!"

"Who's them…?" A long pause. "…Oh. OH." The guard bowed rapidly. "Excuse my rudeness!" Romano shoved past him, eyes narrowed as he walked forward, Feliciano by his side.

"Stupid guards," he growled as Feliciano trembled even more, silent as they stepped inside a well lit office. That did not help with the impending doom feeling, floating throughout the room as Romano walked up in the middle of the room. The man working on his papers glanced up, stared and smiled, a cold gleam in his eyes.

"Ah…the Vargas brothers. How may I help you?" he asked as Romano growled again.

"What the FUCK are you doing to my brother?" he hissed as Leverrier's eyebrow rose. "Why the hell is he having those fucked up dreams? I thought that you would stop with those damn experiments!"

Leverrier blinked then smiled slightly again, standing to his feet. "This war," he began slowly, making his way to the two countries staring at him, "Is fought to keep humanity safe. Surely your brother can spare a bad dream or two?"

"Not if it makes him collapse in the middle of fucking Mass!" Romano shot back, wondering where the hell his bravado was coming from.

"And what would you like me to do mm?" he asked, eyes cold, staring down at them. "Stop our war and let you die?" Romano felt the fiery words die in his throat as he just glared at him. The Inspector smiled, shaking his head. "I know not exactly what this…condition of your brother's is…But we're fighting for the world…we're fighting for you."

He leaned down, staring at the two brothers.

"Is that not good enough?"

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**To the Anons who left reviews, here's my response! **

**To Derpderpderp: THANK YOU. I needed the con criticism! *gives cookies* **

**Let me see if I can answer your reviews…**

**Russia's da: Oh yeah, that…One chapter, after I uploaded it, another reviewer pointed out that I spammed the 'da' too much too. So…I've been working at it. ^^; I'm trying not to use it as much, so y'know. It actually makes sense when I use it. **

**Nations have GUNS: I thought of that, but I wanted to throw in drama…I guess it didn't work out too well. xD; **

**To Other Anon: Thank you too~ **

**7000 Years old: Well, I remember back, back, back in the beginning of D. Gray-man, they mention the war being 7000 years old. So I took a few liberties and made the Earl's age 7000. **

**Kanda's glare feeling: Y'know, I wish I actually covered that. I'll make sure I'll do it next time, thanks for pointing it out! **

**Lithuania: *facepalm* I guess that didn't make sense either. Maybe when I'm done with this thing (wheneverthatmightbelol), I'll go back and edit it. **


	13. Truths

**Alright guys, I'm still alive! 8D And. And. HOLY CRAP. 102 REVIEWS? YOU GUYS ARE SO _AWESOME_. I...I didn't think that anyone would like this and here you are, all proving me wrong andand ;w; Thank you so much. **

**This chapter is the one that most of you guys, I'm sure, have been waiting for. Hopefully, you guys all like it. **

**Enjoy! I'll try not to take forever again.  
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****Till a man can judge whether they be truths or not, his understanding is but little improved, and thus men of much reading, though greatly learned, but may be little knowing. - John Locke ( 1632-1704, British Philosopher )**

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"Yao-oppa, in all respect, WHY did you think running into a battlefield before thinking would do any good?" Min-ji moaned as she flopped into a seat. The nations and their allies had made it back to Korea in one piece, relatively, and Kiku had been toted off by the royal doctors in the palace for care. The others were resting in their own rooms and the two Korean siblings came to check on their older brother.

"Kiku was in danger Min-ji," Yao replied, taking a sip of tea as he did so. "If I had left him alone…"

The elder of the Korean siblings sighed, obviously exhausted as she sat back on her heels, rubbing at her forehead. "So…where are the others?" Yong-soo butted in after a long silence, curious. Motioning towards the rooms, Min-ji sighed yet again.

"They're resting…I suppose…now that they know…" She didn't finish her sentence, looking at Yao who nodded.

"They will know everything now, once we explain it to them."

Alfred was inside another room, his head resting in his brother's lap, Arthur hovering somewhat near by, eyebrows furrowed with worry. "M' sorry," Alfred repeated again as Matthew winced and Arthur spun, green eyes flared with rage, sorrow and perhaps, if both brothers were looking carefully, regret. Ivan sat nearby, arms folded as he watched the little fragmented family for a moment.

"You…you…sodding wanker! What the bloody hell were you thinking, racing out like the git you are? Nation or not, that was..." Arthur expelled a breath, trying frantically to piece together his words coherently to express his rage at the younger nation who refused to lift his head from his brother's lap. It wasn't surprising to Arthur, although the others thought it odd. Once they had gotten back to Korea, Alfred had stuck next to Matthew like glue, as they did when they were children.

Arthur knew this tactic very, very well. Alfred would hide behind Matthew and wait for the storm to pass. Considering that Matthew would usually start to cry, and that Arthur had a soft spot, no it was not a giant spot in his heart, for the twins, he couldn't bring himself to yell at one who did nothing wrong. Not very heroic, his younger twin would point out in which Alfred replied with a childish frown that all heroes had to protect their sidekick from the evil eyebrows that would eat them.

_**Alive. **_

Arthur breathed through his nose deeply then looked at the other countries in the room. "What do we do from here on out?" he asked everyone as Ivan glanced up, eyes watching the other three in the room before pushing himself off of the wall he had been sitting against.

"Japan," he spoke, his violet eyes narrowed, "Will come with us as soon as he is able to move. With Korea in such close proximity to Japan, it is too close to risk." Arthur nodded along to the logic of this statement as Ivan sent a glance at Alfred who seemed intent on staying close to his twin no matter what it took. "…America," he spoke, no longer at risk of what the exorcists might hear.

"…What?" he asked, lifting his head up and staring at Ivan with a remote interest in his eyes. Ivan snorted at this look, shaking his head slightly, fixing his scarf where he sat.

"What do you know of a Renee Epsteine?"

Kanda walked slowly through the hallways of the Korean palace, most of the servants avoiding him. Although, that was mainly due to the fact that rumor had spread quickly that the man was quick to temper and the eunuch who was the unfortunate man assigned to him had the cut up uniform to prove it.

Walking through the halls, he felt like his head was going to split open, pounding headaches that no medicine could cure. What the hell was this feeling? It seemed as if it were gradually growing more badly as the day grew on and Kanda, for all his mind could wrap around this, could only come up with one solution. It had to do with that man…that man Honda Kiku.

His mind set and his feet walking towards a goal, Kanda's normal scowl only grew as he opened the sliding door and slipped in. The other exorcists, when he woke up, had informed him that the men they had been traveling with were actually, countries. Of course, Kanda couldn't believe it at first, he called it all bullshit. Allen had then told him, in blunt words, to "Shut up, BaKanda!" and to, "Ask Mr. Honda yourself when he wakes up."

Kanda scowled at the memory, stepping inside quietly, looking around. The man in question, the man that flashed through his dreams, nightmares was on the sleeping bed before him, chest rising slowly, up and down. Well, Kanda noted dryly with a small shake of his long hair, at least he would be able to get answers.

When the door shut, the man's eyes flew open and he immediately reached for something to hit at Kanda who moved back swiftly to avoid any frantic blow. As the man's breathing calmed after a few moments of flailing, Kanda brought a chair over and sat down to look at him with a pointed look.

"You," he spoke bluntly, not bothering with politeness as his culture demanded of him. "You're the man in my head. What the fuck are you doing there? I don't even fucking know you." The man stared at him for a long moment, his face blank from emotions before he let loose a quiet chuckle, shaking his head.

Kanda grew angry and growled softly, shaking his head. "Answer me damn you! What the hell did you do to my head?" The man grew quiet at that and shook his head slightly, as if debating how to tell Kanda before nodding slightly and turning his gaze up to Kanda.

"…We have met Kanda Yu," he spoke quietly as Kanda strained his head to listen. "We have met once before, in your past." Kanda immediately froze up at that, shaking his head, glaring at him.

"You weren't there," he spoke with a cold, icy glare. "You weren't at the place where those bastards…those bastards…"

"The Asian headquarters, the Second exorcists…Kanda-san, I may not look like it, but I am much older then I look," Kiku finished with a small smile, then paused, a flicker of worry flashing across his face before it was chased away. "Do…you wish to know how Kanda-san?" he spoke as Kanda, shaking himself from the reverie of his thoughts, glared and nodded. The man sat up at that, making himself more comfortable and making sure the blanket was still on him before nodding. "Excuse the rude introduction Kanda-san, but I am Honda Kiku."

Kanda made no response to that, glaring at him still.

Kiku seemed a little hesitant to go onwards, but did so anyway. "I had business, with the Asian Headquarters," he spoke softly, shaking his head. "So I went ahead to visit them. The…" He shook his head, staring at the wall in front of him, as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. "I had no idea that such an experiment was taking place."

"No one had any idea of that shit. It failed, that's why," Kanda retorted, eyes flashing the pain of that memory, the pain of those days. Almost as if unbidden, a small little memory rose up and inflated until he had to take a step back mentally and shut every thought out.

_Alma…_

"…There was a boy, they told me, that shared…" Kiku paused, shaking his head. "Kanda-san, do you know of the truth?" he asked, staring at the boy with a curious glance as Kanda rolled his eyes, grunting rather noncommittally.

"You mean that bullshit about how you and those others are country personifications?" he retorted easily, staring at Kiku as if he were crazy. "Yeah, they told me."

Kiku offered a small smile and a shake of his head. "It is true. All of it. How else do you think we are able to connect in such a way?"

"By the innocence! By the experiments, I don't know, you're bullshitting me right now! There's no way you or those others are…" Kanda, by then, had realized the almost stupidity behind what he said. Really, there were demons wearing human skin, a seven thousand year war and the second exorcist experiment…would it really be such a stretch to say that there were country personifications running amuck?

Yes, it would be. Kanda immediately retorted to the more sensible side to himself. Then again, did he have one? He glared briefly then shook his head, words falling short as Kiku averted his gaze and stared elsewhere, eyes closed. "…They told me that a boy was part of who I was, as a country. I went to meet you while you were still…"

Kanda, despite himself, was starting to listen now, more than he originally intended to as he leaned forward slightly. "While I was…?" he asked slowly, watching for the man's reaction to this.

Kiku didn't flinch rather he focused his blank brown gaze in front of him, at the tapestry on the wall. "…While they were testing if the innocence would accept you or not," he finished, his emotions never faltering to not show on his face. Kanda sat back, staring at the man's placid face for a moment then growled softly. He _did _recognize him.

That man, Honda Kiku had been talking to Bak Chan's grandfather and then he had noticed Kanda who at the time was trying to synch with the innocence once again. Why didn't he notice this...?

"…You. You're the man who came to talk to me later, after all of that."

A faint flicker of surprise echoed across Kiku's face as he smiled slightly and nodded. "…I am. I asked if you were hungry and wanted a bite to eat." He smiled then wiped the smile away from his face easily, staring at the wall again. "You…told me 'no' in… less kinder terms and yet…I was intrigued by you Kanda-san, so I continued to talk."

"How does this end up with us being able to dream about each other?" Kanda asked, some of the hostility ebbing away from his voice as Kiku nodded.

"I…We…Our situations mirrored each other. You were trapped in by the church and I by my duties to my people. We both had people we loved and yet, they were torn from us by factors neither of us could control." He smiled slightly and tapped Kanda's head. "Although your tattoo might also play a factor in this."

"Then…we're connected. I'll feel your pain while you feel mine. What kind of fucking relationship is that?" Kanda snapped as Kiku smiled slightly, shaking his head.

"An unfair one," he answered then paused, staring at the wall. "I have never shared such a deep bond with any one of my citizens before and to be frank Kanda-san, I am not sure I can reverse this."

Kanda's mind tried to wrap around this and spun at all of this as he sank down into his seat a little more, staring at Kiku. "Then…because our situations supposedly click, you and I are connected," he stated with a small frown as Kiku chuckled once, then nodded. "You know how idiotic that sounds right now? How…"

"Kanda-san," the nation, and Kanda, despite all his thoughts that screamed nay, was starting to accept that they were nations, cut in politely. "I myself cannot explain it, how I, a nation, your nation, am able to emphasize with one such as yourself. But, if I might say," he paused, fingering the blankets in between his fingers, feeling the soft silk.

"Because we are nations, because of what I am, I feel my people's pains daily, what they go through, who they are…perhaps…you are more augmented due to your childhood experience," Kanda snorted dryly at how the nation danced around the word 'experience', "-and when we finally met…" He waved his hand again. "Both you and I were able to connect through the fact that I am a nation…and you, an…"

"An experiment. Dammit, I know what I am, you don't need to dance around it so carefully like you'll fucking break me or something," he immediately retorted bitterly as Kiku stiffened then allowed a small smile. Shifting off his chair, Kanda stared at Kiku with a scowl. "Then what happens beyond this? After this? What are you going to do since you can't come back to Japan?"

Kiku fell silent, then sighed, staring at his hands for a moment. "I…did not expect to be rescued, Kanda-san. I do not know what they want of me, what…" He stared up at the exorcist with a small frown. "Although, that does not mean I am not grateful, far from it." He sighed, shaking his head once again. "I…the nation of Japan managed to survive the Akuma attacking my home," he said slowly as if he wasn't sure that he could believe it.

Kanda sat there silently, watching and trying to organize his thoughts before Kiku smiled. "Now that you have seen me, Kanda-san, do you feel your headaches are better?" he asked, still smiling as Kanda glanced up before snorting with a toss of his head.

"Tch. Of course, as if I would be held down by that forever."

Kiku's smile only grew. "…Then that is good to know."

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**To reply to reviews~**

**Romano issue, yes, I realized that way too late into the story but due to laziness, I stuck with Romano. *cough* Sorry about that. **


	14. Deaths

**Author's notes at the end. Please enjoy this chapter! **

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****A friend who dies, it's something of you who dies. - Gustave Flaubert**

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Days flickered by. The countries began to plan what they would do against the Vatican to prevent any other measure against their kind and Kiku slowly began to recover.

The first day the nations went to see Kiku was no less then loud, much to the normally quiet nation's chagrin.

"Kiku!" Alfred yelled, waving his hands wildly to catch the nation's attention as the nation sighed softly, then politely inclined his head slightly towards the younger nation. "You doin' alright? Those demon skin eaters didn't mess ya up too badly right?" Kiku just nodded as Matthew sighed and reached out, pulling his brother's jacket and tugging him back as he did so.

Arthur nodded to Matthew in thanks for shutting the nation up neatly then turned his head towards Kiku and smiled slightly at his friend. "It's good to see you in good spirits," he said with another nod of his head, his bushy eyebrows relaxing slightly.

Kiku looked up at Arthur and smiled slightly as well. "I thank you for coming out for someone such as myself," he spoke as Yao scoffed at that, shaking his head.

"Do not humble yourself Kiku," he spoke, shaking his head as Kiku glanced a little warily up at his older brother figure. "You are one of our kind, and _my _little brother. I at the very least will not let you fall so easily."

"Yeah Hyung!" Yong-soo yelled from where he stood before his older sister could get him to shut up. "You're our older brother even if you're a complete asshole!" **[1] **

Needless to say, Min-ji banned Yong-soo from Kiku's room unless with Yao.

A few weeks later, when Kiku said that he was feeling much better and could afford to walk around, the exorcists and the countries gathered in one of the Korean siblings' many rooms and lounged around. Yao had received a letter from Mei, otherwise known as Taiwan, asking if Kiku was alright and he was currently reading through it again with Kiku sitting near him and Yong-soo.

Alfred was sitting next to Matthew and Arthur who both were staying away from Ivan, still leaning against the wall.

Allen, Lavi, Lenalee, and Kanda, who had been sleeping on and off since his meeting with Kiku, were sitting on the floor or couch, the silence rather awkward before Arthur spoke up.

"Our original plan was to save Kiku from harm and keep him alive since there are citizens that are alive," Arthur spoke, eyes narrowed as he watched the small crowd. "Now, we have to change that plan."

The Brit's eyes narrowed, remembering what Alfred had said about Renee.

"_She's…she's the one who started the Third exorcist project with Alma…whoever that was with the head of Central. I think, Artie, we might need to go to Italy…to talk with…um, Feliciano and Romano. They're Italy right? They should know more what the Vatican is planning." _

And for once, Alfred was right. They had to go the heart of the problem in order to keep Kiku safe and…he sighed. He didn't know what they were planning but his mind was turning to one thought in his mind. One that he frankly, did not like, but this was the Black Order after all…

All in the meanwhile, Arthur noticed that Alfred was wincing, holding his chest, something noticed by all as worries began to flicker through the group. Even Ivan paused in the planning, glancing at the younger nation in somewhat of concern. "Is there something wrong America?" he asked as Alfred gave him a blank stare.

"Nothing. Just…just keep talking, I'll get over this…" the young nation bit out, glaring at the wall as Ivan blinked then shook his head.

"…We will commence to Italy with Japan and collaborate with the other nations around the area to help," Ivan spoke, still looking at Alfred with a remote sense of worry written in his normally smiling features. "From there, the exorcists and we will take action against Central as needed to keep from them destroying ourselves."

"It sounds good," Lavi spoke from where he sat. "But against Central? Wouldn't that be asking for a coup of sorts? They do still control the Black Order after all."

Glancing at the red headed boy, Ivan allowed a slight smirk, shaking his head. "Would it be a coup if it were simply questions? Would it be a coup unless you were to kill the Inspector, or whoever he might be? I do not think so, da?" The smirk grew slowly. "Unless of course, what he does decide is detrimental towards our kind, then I at the very least will take action against Central."

Yao turned this plan over in his head before nodding slightly. "Then we should prepare to leave aru," he spoke after some time as he stood up. "Kiku is well on his way to recovery and with Kanda near him, he should be able to survive well enough aru."

Days passed, traveling, defeating Akuma, worries growing as Alfred started to grow worse, irritable, shooting off his rifle one too many times. Matthew grew concerned, worried as the frown creases grew more pronounced, opting to stay with his brother then with the others. Arthur also took to hovering over Alfred, almost to the point where Alfred, in a moment where he was in a good mood, joked that Arthur's bushy eyebrows would jump off and become his own eyebrows at how close he was hovering.

It was a lame attempt to actually lighten the mood as the group traveled to Italy slowly, passing by Yao's home, Ivan's and after a fervent protest by Ivan to skip Belarus, through Toris's home with Feliks, who was at first, reluctant to let them through. Something about "Like, I'm totally not going to let that Russian pass through, got it?", but they managed in the end.

They stopped in Germany, near the capital, as the nation personifications came out to meet the group himself. As they weaved their ways through the crowds, Arthur started to rely information to the others. After all, he was in a rivalry with the German siblings, and Prussia, Gilbert, was currently leading the country since their boss was the Prussian monarch. "When you see that bugger," Arthur growled softly as they moved swiftly through the crowd. "Ignore his gratuitous claims that he is awesome. He is not."

"What, Gilbert?" Alfred asked, eyes wide, leaning against Matthew and somewhat of Ivan since the Russian nation had pointed out that if Alfred were to snap, then he would have to be the one to hold him down. Lavi offered to try smashing him down with his hammer, as a joke, but both Allen and Lenalee gave him a lecture that Lavi's innocence might hurt Alfred and that he shouldn't joke about things like that.

Lavi looked like a rabbit that had lost his hop.

The exorcists, during the entire trip, were rather quiet, looking at Alfred with caution. Glancing at Alfred again, Allen pressed his hand against his chest, where his scar was from when he, Kanda, and Marie went to claim the Phantom Thief G and narrowed his eyes. The fourteenth was unsettled, watching Alfred closely, he could feel it. Was it because…? The British boy watched Alfred as he leaned against Matthew as his eyes widened.

"…Lenalee," he murmured softly, turning his head towards the Chinese girl. She blinked then tilted her head.

"What's wrong Allen?"

Allen looked uncomfortable, shaking his head. "It can't be but…" The boy paused, shaking his head as he did so. "It can't be." Shifting a little more, Allen took a small breath, shaking his head. "Lenalee, you know…the Noah inside of me…He's reacting towards Mr. Jones…"

"…" Lenalee's eyes widened as Allen looked at Alfred then shook his head. The Chinese girl shook her head slowly. "…Mr. Jones wouldn't…he wouldn't be a Noah…"

Allen paused then shook his head more. "Skin Bolic…he perished in the ark right?" he spoke softly as Kanda caught wind of this conversation and shifted towards Allen and Lenalee.

"What the hell are you talking about?" the Japanese boy snapped as heads started to turn. "Of course the Noah died." Kanda sent a glance at his blade then at the others as Allen shook his head, glaring at him.

"If he really died then why is…_he _reacting towards Mr. Jones?" he retorted as Kanda blinked for a moment then eyes slowly widened, his hand creeping towards his blade. "Then what would that make him…? A Noah who can use innocence…?"

"HEY! You came all this way Alfred?" came a loud voice, interrupting the otherwise intense conversation as Alfred looked up with a grin.

"Gilbert!" he called as a white haired and red eyed man bounded down the street they were on. They were relatively close enough, since the Prussian had come during Alfred's revolution to help him out and training his men. Alfred had an admiration towards the nation and his face lit up, ignoring the pain in his chest.

Gilbert, or otherwise known as Prussia, grinned, waving off the other people. "And hello to you all unawesome people, welcome to West's and my home!" Ushering them forward quickly, Gilbert grinned, holding up a thumbs up. "You're going to stay with me and West, till ya go to Italy's place." Glancing at Kiku, he grinned and waved. "Glad to see ya doing well!" he called as Kiku bowed politely and Arthur snorted.

Gilbert merely grinned, waving to the others. "Come on, there's a shitload of stuff to talk about! You're going soon right? We'll support as much as we can, no worries about that!"

Even with the joy, pain ripped through, ruining any plans on moving forward quickly.

The pain grew, Alfred forced to stay inside and cling to dear life to his brother as the other countries grew more and more concerned, watching the boy as he struggled to recover. Allen and the exorcists grew more wary as the weeks grew, Kiku now fully recovered.

In all of this, surprisingly it was Ivan who stood near the boy and supported him along with the small group of countries gathered there. Arthur protested that the nearer they grew towards the Vatican, the more the inherent Noah inside of Alfred would react. There were questions, why Arthur wasn't falling prey to the fourteenth, in which Arthur simply replied that he was much older then they all thought.

Alfred was young, susceptible because of his civil war and if he lost the battle to his Noah inside of him, then God knows what might happen.

One night, Matthew was awaken from his doze in the armchair when his brother cried out, clawing at his neck. The Canadian ran to his brother, dropping to his brother's side as he held his hand. "Al!" he yelled as Alfred's bright sky blue eyes were dimmed and filled with pain.

"There…it's like the Civil war…" he whispered through his clenched teeth. "I…I…There's my mind…and the Noah…he's so angry Mattie…He wants to destroy everything…He wants to hurt everyone…Mattie…"

Matthew shifted then sat next to his brother, placing his head in his lap, running his fingers through his hair gently. "You can beat him Al…you of all people…you can win. Just remember the skies from your home…Alfred, remember your home…please fight eh?" he pleaded, holding his hand as Alfred looked at his brother then nodded slowly.

"Mattie…don't let me hurt anyone…" he pleaded softly, holding onto his brother tightly. "Don't…let me…"

Matthew smiled a little pained as he ran his fingers through his brother's hair. "I won't let you…don't worry, I won't let you hurt anyone as long as you continue to fight…"

Alfred's eyes watered for the first time that trip as he pressed his face into Matthew's chest. "I'm so sorry Mattie…"

A figure moved through the dark as Matthew looked up, grabbing his rifle, holding Alfred's hand tightly at the same time. "Who's there?" he called out, eyes narrowed as the figure approached, hands held up.

"Canada, it is just me," Ivan spoke as Matthew stared at Ivan then sighed, shaking his head.

"Don't scare me like that," he murmured softly as Ivan and Arthur who had been lurking from the back approached Alfred, looking at him.

"My apologies," Ivan spoke, although it was rather half hearted, looking at Alfred. "…How is Amerika?" he asked, and Matthew heard Ivan's accent slip through, since it was late at night.

"Alfred…is alright," he spoke softly as another boy, Allen, walked in, a little surprised at the crowd. "…He's just scared…" Sending a look at Allen who stared at Matthew then at Alfred, Matthew smiled a little. "…is there something you need Allen?" he asked as Allen looked at Alfred.

Watching him for a long moment, the British boy spoke softly as Matthew's eyes widened slightly. "I don't think he'll submit so easily. It's…like the Fourteenth in me." Arthur glanced at the boy then smiled slightly.

"And you have been fighting him for a long time, right?" he said as Allen laughed sheepishly, shaking his head.

"Well, no, I just…relate to Mr. Jones so I wanted to see if I could help him in some way," he admitted as Alfred stirred slowly, slowly. Allen's words died on his lips, his optimism taking a spill. Matthew shook his brother, whispering softly to him but there was a light grey tinge to Alfred's skin…No…

In reality, Allen wanted to see Alfred to see if he could get rid of the Noah himself, so that Alfred didn't have to suffer. What he said was just the truth. He wanted to help Alfred, something inside him, the side that related so well with Alfred's situation, wanted to do what was possible to help him. But now…the Noah…the Noah that was supposed to have died with Skin Bolic lived.

…That meant something. Something. Allen wracked his brain that was running on full speed as he shook his head. Skin Bolic…he lived. And that meant his Noah was alive and well in Alfred, its influence seeping into Alfred and his thoughts because of his role as a country, as _America. _

Then…how could he…Crown Clown! Crown Clown purified evil, purified Noah which was the polar opposite of the innocence. Even if Tyki had reacted badly, it shouldn't apply to everyone…right? It had worked on himself…

Allen didn't know the consequences that would arise from hitting a country with innocence, especially one that used innocence like Alfred, but he had to try. He had to try something! He wouldn't let someone who people, although they wouldn't blatantly state it, treasured fall to the Noah influence so easily.

Now…Allen was realizing that more and more, he was standing on his own side. He didn't stand with the church or the Earl, all he stood for was the Akuma and their souls, his friends who stood by him…and now his new friends in these people, these personifications of countries.

He had to try after all…they came so far! They saved Kiku, they were going to confront the Vatican to see why they were letting countries die and they were so close! Allen tightened his fists, activated his innocence then leveled Crown Clown at Alfred who had sat up slowly, staring at the blade.

"Walker! What the hell are you doing?" Arthur shouted, his hand scrabbling for his gun as Allen narrowed his eyes. Arthur, England's mind was racing. What was Allen doing…? Thoughts of taking the burden from America, to save him from the Noah that consumed him before he hurt the people he treasured just like Allen was fighting so hard to do against the Noah ran through the country's mind as Arthur gritted his teeth.

"Slashing Alfred with a sword won't solve anything!" he shouted as Matthew curled around his brother whose eyes were dimming from their normal blue. "It won't take his burden away, Allen! Put the sword down!"

"My Crown Clown..." Allen smiled a little then shook his head. "It purifies evil. Maybe I can take the Noah out of Mr. Jones…or at least give him a fighting chance…" Lifting the blade more, he angled it towards Alfred as Ivan stared at the blade then growled a little, shaking his head. But before he could speak, Alfred had acted.

Matthew fell to the floor, thrown by Alfred who then moved to Arthur, punching his old caretaker out of the way.

Allen shouted, Ivan cursed, before the part of the home they were in broke down into pieces and smoke filled the air.

Heads turned, minds spun as Lavi and Lenalee with Kanda ran to the room, Kanda throwing aside rubble. His senses tingled, this enemy he remembered.

The Noah of Rage…

Why was he here? More importantly, why was he _alive?_

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**So. Guys. Sorry for taking forever on the chapter! OTL Really, my bad. Just…life. Sprained my ankle, potentially broke it, college apps and finals… **

**BUT. BUT. THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THE REVIEWS. They **_**really, really **_**make my day. I hope that this chapter makes sense! I have no idea how much more I want to write of this fic…maybe six more chapters? That might not be enough so…pfft. I don't know. I hope you enjoy and leave me your thoughts! I feel like this chapter was rushed, even with the amount of time…but I think this was to be expected. xD Anyway, yeah, leave me your thoughts guys. *nod* **

**[1]: Historical note: Korea and Japan, during the 19****th**** century had sort of a bad relationship with each other, which trails back to the ancient Korean times, back when Korea was three kingdoms. Japan tried to invade Korea, Korea chased them off and this went back and forth with China also invading Korea and winning at one time. Towards the end of the 19****th**** century, Japan took over Korea as a colony as a stepping stone into Manchuria to invade more easily. Because of the events that happened during D. Gray-man, I forgo the invasion of Korea and took a different route but Korea does have animosity towards Japan regardless because of their history. Just…eh, in case you were wondering why my Korea was a little different from the Hetalia version. **


	15. Birth

**Birth was the death of him. - Samuel Beckett**

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Kanda took a breath, calming his nerves. Whatever the cause, whatever this might be, it didn't matter. He would kill the Noah just like he did in the past, no matter how many damn times it took. Taking a step forward again, Kanda narrowed his eyes, angling Mugen in the dim light. America, Alfred had slowly stood up, white hair fisted tightly in his fist, glaring at Kanda.

Allen was dangling a little weakly in the Noah's grip, having been clubbed in the face with debris that flew out.

"Oi!" Kanda shouted, taking a threatening step forward yet again. "Let the damn Moyashi go!"

Alfred leered at the boy, his blue eyes now a dark thunderous blue. "This is nice…this body, this sort of…living spirit. I can have my own identity as a Noah while at the same time have this boy's essence crushed down," he crooned, stroking Alfred's hair which would have looked comical had it not been for the fact that Alfred had a dangerous smirk on his face. "The other body I awoken…It was so easy to take control…This boy actually fought me. You've seen me before right, Kanda Yu?"

"Skin Bolic. How the fuck could I forget your face? Left me with a damn big scar from your fight," Kanda snapped back as the Noah laughed, shaking his head.

"I am not Skin Bolic!" he crowed, shaking his head with gusto. "That weakling died in the Ark where you killed him. I was merely waiting for my true awakening in my new retainer." Smirking, he chuckled a little darkly. "Surely you haven't lost touch with that battle Kanda Yu?" he asked slowly, tilting his head. "Or does the Black Order know _nothing _about the Noah?"

Lenalee readied herself as she tried to focus on what the Alfred was talking about. Her mind spun as she stored the information for later then looked around for survivors. Looking at Alfred then at Allen, she decided to act while the Noah was distracted, at least, to give them some breathing room.

"Innocence, activate!" she shouted as Lavi's eyes widened. The red haired bookman managed to jump out of the way as the Chinese girl leapt forward, kicking twice. "Kirikaze!" The wind burst through the room, throwing the Noah out who was caught off guard and the debris with it. Lenalee narrowed her eyes then kicked a burst of speed into her legs, flying forward and kicking the Noah's arm to let go of Allen.

The Noah grunted as he let go of Allen and then dropped to the ground, landing with a thud as Lenalee caught Allen then as she landed on the ground near where the Noah was, kicked off to get away from a safe distance.

In the meanwhile, Kanda dropped to the ground, sword glinting in the light. "I don't give a fuck about all of Noah shit. If there's an enemy, I'll destroy it," the Japanese boy snapped as another katana joined him, angling the blade towards Alfred.

"As much I would like to agree with Kanda-kun's sentiments," Kiku said as he stepped up, blade point towards the Noah nation, "Alfred-kun purposely went out of his way to come out and save someone like me."

Sending a glance at Kanda who frowned, Kiku smiled slightly. "I have a debt to him and to you all." Pausing, he thought for a moment as the Noah got to his feet slowly and stared at the two, as if waiting. "If innocence is what polar opposite of a Noah is, then we should be able to cut through the part of the Noah that is Alfred, right?"

"Yeah, that's about it," Lavi called as he swung his hammer back and forth. "Beat the crap out of him to the point of death then somehow get back America, Alfred," he said with a slight smile. "Sounds like fun."

The Noah laughed, holding out his hands. "I dare you to try and hurt me! I'll kill you all!"

Meanwhile in the debris, Matthew managed to pull himself out, wincing at the pain from being bodily tossed into a wall as he winced, getting back up to his feet. Coughing from the dust, he looked around at Lenalee who was taking care of Allen then the memories of what happened hit him hard. "Al…!" he whispered, then heard noises of battle and raced over to the broken edge of the building.

Kanda was dashing at the Noah who shot back every blow towards him as Kiku joined up on the frontal assault, trying to stab Alfred in an area that wouldn't kill him. Lavi was long distance, swinging his hammer towards the Noah who easily blocked off the huge black hammer.

Matthew couldn't bear to watch his twin fighting and remembered what Alfred told him. Wasn't this like every play, every single heroic play that Alfred made him watch with him? Kill him once he lost control…

This wasn't a story, a play, nothing like that at all! Matthew couldn't hurt his twin, couldn't hurt another part of him…

"…Alfred has lost control," came a rather calm voice behind Matthew as the Canadian turned his head, staring at Ivan who had picked himself out of the debris, blood trickling down his head where his head had landed against the wall rather hard.

"Russia…" Matthew whispered almost pitifully as Ivan reached into the rubble, his gaze unreadable. Pulling out a pipe sticking out of the ground from the ruined plumbing, he stared at the fighting below and shook his head.

"It is most unfortunate that Alfred fell to the Noah…I had been expecting for him to fight." He took a breath then readied his weapon of choice. "But I will let him die with dignity."

"Non! You…you can't kill Alfred!" Matthew cried out as he grabbed the pipe out of fear. "You can't hurt my twin!"

Ivan stared at Matthew with wide eyes then shook his head. "You do realize what this means, da, Canada?" he asked with his eyes narrowed now. "Alfred is no more. He is gone. What more do you wish to see of him suffering under the Noah?" The Russian snapped as Matthew almost let go of the pipe.

"…I won't let you. You can't let him…!" he pleaded as from the rubble, Arthur managed to force himself out, wiping the blood off his lips.

"Bloody twat…" Arthur growled, eyes narrowed and filled with contempt. "I didn't think it would come to this…"

"Does England agree?" Ivan called, tilting his head as Arthur glared at him.

"Are you expecting me to agree with your bloody idea Russia?" the empire snapped, glaring at him. "There is no way I would agree with killing of him. There should be a way to hold him down…so that he isn't able to hurt anyone anymore." Reaching into his coat pocket, he growled softly. "I hoped I didn't have to use this."

Ivan watched this all with a growing frown then shook his head. "Are you trying to save him even now?"

Arthur froze for a brief moment then growled loudly. "Bloody yes I am, Russia! He was my colony, he was - is basically my son!" Something that he would never admit to Alfred, but, if Alfred was at risk of dying… "Why wouldn't I try my best to save him?" Snarling, Arthur stood his ground as Ivan watched the empire then shrugged slightly as Yao entered the room with Gilbert and Ludwig not far behind him.

"What…what the fuck happened here?" Gilbert asked rather loudly as he glanced around the room. "Where's America? This was his room right?" At that moment, electricity filled the air as the small group raced towards the broken wall.

Yao gritted his teeth at the sight of his younger brother figure fighting off the Noah as he jabbed his finger towards the sight. "That is not America any longer," he said as he lowered his finger. "We have to stop him or else what we have fought so long for will crumble!"

"Y-You can't…"

A small voice echoed through the room as Arthur turned then stared at Allen who was still in his crown clown form. "You can't…There has to be a way to get rid of the Noah," the British boy spoke again, forcing himself up from where he was set on the floor. "Killing him won't do any good…"

Ludwig, who had been silent and watching the group, finally spoke up. "You might want to think quickly, I believe Alfred is losing more control as we go on."

"Then what the fuck are we waiting for?" Gilbert shouted, joining the fray. "We can't just let things end this way!"

Allen nodded to that, getting back up to his feet as he glanced at the countries then jumped off the broken wall and to the battleground. Racing towards Alfred, he swung his blade at Alfred who immediately leapt backwards from the blade, laughing at Allen who gritted his teeth.

"You can't do it~!" the Noah leered at Allen who swung his blade again at the Noah. "You can't hurt him!"

"I won't hurt Mr. Jones, I'll free him instead!" Allen shouted, spinning the blade in his hands to match blow for blow. Parrying off the blow to his head, Allen moved low, draping his cloak over his frame as he crashed through the lightning to slash through the Noah.

Taking this opening as the Noah lurched backwards, clutching at his chest, Lenalee sprang forward quickly, jumping sideways as Allen drove in the blade deeper into the Noah.

_More speed Dark boots! _She shouted mentally then kicked in the blade through the Noah Nation's heart. Allen let go of the blade then moved to cover Lenalee as the Noah screamed, lightning erupting through the fields, fire springing around the group where the lightning stuck the ground.

Lavi moved quickly, spinning his hammer into the air. "**Wood Seal, Roots Entwining Heaven and Earth**!" he shouted as the water from near by rivers came forth to quench the flames. The other nations ran up to where the three were, Allen still covering Lenalee carefully.

Lenalee peeked out from behind Crown Clown, staring at Alfred carefully. "Allen…" she whispered softly, "Check on Mr. Jones…"

Allen nodded then moved towards the boy, pulling out the blade slowly and staring at the Noah who stirred, staring at Allen.

"You didn't win," the Noah said with a scowl, "I'm still in control…"

Arthur snarled, his former pirate swagger returning with each step, the fact that he was a damn _empire_ radiating off him in pure rage. "Unhand _**my**_ boy you sodding wanker," he hissed angrily, pointing the gun at the Noah, "-before I tear you out of him _myself_."

"Your boy? Hah! Don't make me laugh! He betrayed you, left you to be alone again when -!" A shot rang out towards the Noah's left ear, thunder blue eyes staring at the Empire in shock.

Arthur's green eyes grew livid at the thought, anger rolling off of him in waves, his right hand on his pistol, smoke still rising up from the barrel. "Alfred might have claimed his independence but he is still my boy, my son! You will not take that from me no matter what you might try to twist your words to turn me against him! Now, return him!"

Ivan stepped up to Alfred, the Noah, glaring at the boy. "Return my friend to me," he growled as the Noah turned on him, glaring.

"What friend, Ruski? What friend? He doesn't trust you, he calls you strange. You're alone and you'll always be alone!" the Noah snapped as Ivan snarled even more, purple eyes livid as he lifted his pipe into the air to swing down before Kanda stopped him with his blade.

"…Asshole. You know you're dead, stop buying time!" the Japanese boy snapped as the Noah growled, holding his wound. "Or do I have to cut you piece by piece for you to let go of Jones?"

"That won't be necessary~!" a childish voice spoke as Kanda snarled then looked up, where the voice was coming from. Road giggled then swung down, hugging Alfred close to her chest. "I was wondering when you were going to wake up brother!" she said with a pout as Alfred smiled slightly and patted her head.

"Well, I got hung up by these guys. Should we go?" Wincing, Alfred got to his feet, ready to leave as Kanda moved to strike, before Canada, Matthew shouted, tearing free from Gilbert's grasp and latching onto his brother, crying.

"Al! Al where are you? I know you're in there…Where are you?"

Matthew's voice shook through the Noah's body, down to where Alfred was sleeping, imprisoned by the Noah.

Alfred stared at Matthew for a moment, the critical moment where all might change as the Noah reached up to strike Matthew away.

No.

No.

_No. No bastard would touch his little brother. _

His mouth formed the words, finally speaking up during this long ordeal of being locked down under the Noah.

"Don't touch my brother!" he yelled, a surge of innocence welling up from within and lashing out at the Noah.

"Don't abuse my body!"

The innocence grew stronger.

"And most of all, _STOP_ MAKING THE HERO LOOK **WEAK**!"

He screamed the last words, punching through the cage that incased him and right through the Noah's soul. "You can't get rid of me!" the Noah shouted, reaching out to touch the boy as Alfred snarled.

"I'm the goddamn hero! Don't even think about touching me again!" he shouted as the Noah hissed.

"You're too weak. You call yourself a nation and yet you don't even realize your own potential! There's so much rage that could be harnessed, you could rule the world with fear if you tried! I'm here to make that happen, for you and for my own family!"

Alfred snarled then reached out, grabbing the Noah's soul. The Noah roared, grappling at Alfred's hair, the two fighting like mad for control.

"Like hell the hero will let that happen! Heroes don't take advantage of weaknesses or hurt anyone!" Alfred growled before he struggled to resume control, still fighting desperately with the Noah.

How was this happening? Two souls trying to fight for dominance over one body, it was in England, Arthur's fairytales! Despite all of that, Alfred knew that he couldn't afford to lose. Not when people depended on him…

Alfred shouted again, forcing both the Noah and his own body away from group, trying to regain ground before the Noah roared, his power and his rage exploding out of Alfred's body, lightning arching through the air as the boy snarled, racing through it to strike at him with his bare fists, knocking them both to the ground.

The lightning ceased both inside and outside as Alfred's eyes grew heavy but managed to draw back his fist one more time to punch the Noah in the face while straddling him. "That...That's for hurting my friends..."

Punch.

"That's for making me look damn _pathetic_."

Punch.

"That's for hurting my brother!"

Punch.

"That's for thinking you can take over a hero!"

The Noah hissed but grew unconscious immediately after Alfred punched him once more in between his eyes before the boy wavered and collapsed next to him, letting his eyes finally shut.

Meanwhile, Gilbert formed what just happened the best way possible in his own words.

"…What the fuck just happened?"

Ivan and Arthur had thrown themselves down to avoid getting hurt as Road had to back off as well as the Noah convulsed, clawing at his chest but managed to catch her sibling, petting his hair.

Ivan shook his head, clearing it, before reaching over and nearly tearing the boy out of Road's arms, glaring at the girl who scowled slightly and glared back. "You have my brother," she said with a frown. "I want him back."

"…I will be damned before I let go of America again to the likes of you," Ivan spoke, all childish front gone. In its place was a pissed off nation, ready to lash out against Road who stared at Ivan.

"Relo!" A pink umbrella floated down, the pumpkin head squawking at Road. "Master Earl is calling you back!"

Road made a 'tch' noise with a click of her tongue, shaking her head. "Relo, the Noah of Rage has awakened again," she said with a frown in the group's direction. "I'll go back, but he needs to come and get him for himself because Brother's being stubborn and mean."

'Relo' stared at Alfred still in Ivan's arms then nodded, ushering the Noah on through her door while the exorcists snapped out of their dumbfounded states and raced after the Noah. "Master Earl will learn of the new Noah, Relo! We just need to get out of here Relo!"

And like that, the Noah and the umbrella were gone, leaving the small group stunned and staring at the now slumbering boy nation in Ivan's arms.

Gilbert shook his head slowly and stared at Alfred. "Seriously, what the _fuck _is going on here?"

Ivan slowly stood up, the boy in his arms as Arthur moved to pet the boy's hair slowly, gently, betraying his normal scowling persona.

"Wouldn't we all like to know?"

* * *

**...Five months. Sorry about that guys. Well, um! There's not much I can say about this chapter, other then sorry for taking forever! D:Tell me what you guys think and THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING! I love you all. *throws cookies* **

**If some things seem weird...just. Yeah. Mention it. I'll try my best to fix it!  
**


	16. Time

**Clocks slay time... time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life. - William Faulkner**

* * *

The entire house was quiet, too quiet for a small group of people who were supposed to be staying there. After the whirlwind of events that had rocked the group to the core, confusing many as to what happened, there wasn't much of an urge to continue on with their quest.

Matthew stayed by his brother's side, holding his hand gently. Alfred was still unconscious, a few weeks after the long mental battle with the Noah contained inside of him and there was no telling on when he would wake up…and who he would be. Ivan lingered near where the younger of the nations was waiting for his twin to wake up, a passive look on his face. He had openly declared his friendship with the boy, and wasn't it true?

After all, he did help the boy through his Civil war in relatively one piece. **[1]** Yet…he knew the reputation he had amongst the nations, of being unstable…and he could understand that. So why would Alfred be any different?

Arthur constantly brought more towels, more pillows, anything he could think of to make Alfred as comfortable as possible in his condition. It was clear in the British man's eyes just how much he wanted Alfred to recover despite having fought with him so many times during the trip.

Kanda was grumpy. He wanted to move, to finish this mission and head on his own for awhile. But no one was thinking about even _moving. _Well, Kanda could understand why, Alfred was still in danger of the Noah's influence…

The Japanese boy scowled, staring at the wall. Why didn't he just let Russia clobber Alfred across the head? That would have saved the trouble. Instead, he let the Noah and Alfred go berserk within the body and potentially let the Noah have full control. Kanda frowned, fingers tapping the hilt of his blade impatiently. Yep, he was going to go solo after this on missions.

Allen in the meanwhile watched over Alfred, half praying to whatever god was up there to help the nation before shaking his head and starting to hum softly to himself. A song…Allen winced a little, sitting up and leaning against the wall. The Musician's song…

Almost unconsciously, he began to sing the song he learned from…from Mana, from the 14th's lingering memories and the reason why he could operate the Ark.

"_Then the boy falls asleep…" _Allen sang softly to himself as Matthew and Ivan's head both lifted, listening to the exorcist. Ivan's eyes widened at the ethereal sound that no longer sounded like the young teenager boy in front of them. _"The flame inside the breathing ashes, and one by one many dear profiles appear…"_

Alfred stirred slightly, as if called by the strange song back to reality as Matthew's eyes widened slightly. Allen, not noticing this, continued on, his eyes flickered closed. _"Thousands of dreams drop to the Earth…__On the night when silver eyes flicker, the shining you is born…" _

Arthur, who had brought in tea for the small group, slowly set his tea down, green eyes narrowed. There…was an odd magic in this room…from that song Allen was singing…

"_Even though countless prayers are returned to the earth by the passing millions of years…I will continue to pray. _

_No matter what, shower this child with love and kiss on the connected hands." _

Holding out his hand, Arthur narrowed his eyes a little, a fairy with blue gossamer wings fluttering around Alfred. "The song," she piped up after a moment of intently studying Alfred's face, "the song is helping him wake up!"

Arthur lowered his hand at that, rushing to Alfred's side as Allen's eyes fluttered open, looking around almost wildly. "Did I just...sing a song?" he asked as Arthur glanced at Allen for a moment then allowed a small smile, shaking his head.

"Yes lad…you helped wake up Alfred too…" Arthur said softly as the nation stirred, his eyes flickering open. Kanda, having heard the song along with everyone else, had his blade out and ready, angled toward Alfred in case the Noah prevailed. One couldn't be too careful…and Kanda would be damned if he let the Noah escape again.

Slowly, as the tension wrapped around the small group, Alfred's blue eyes looked around at the small crowd amassed around him before a tired smile spread on his face. Apparently too tired to say anything, he closed his eyes again then fell asleep again, breathing steady. Arthur sighed, hands pressed against his face, as the others glanced at each other, not sure on what to do next.

"It seems," Ivan spoke after a long moment, "that America is in control."

Lavi leaned a little closer, looking over the nation for a moment before scowling and stepping back. "Not before the Noah left him a present…" the Bookman Junior said with a frown as he reached out and gently pushed Alfred's hair back, revealing the similar stigma across his forehead, matching the Noah family's own mark.

Yao almost hissed at the sight before glancing at England. "What does this mean then? Does the Noah still live inside of Alfred?" he asked as Lenalee darted forward, dabbing away at the boy's forehead.

Arthur let loose a heavy sigh, shaking his head. "I don't know," he admitted after a long moment. "I don't know how the Noah managed to harness onto Alfred instead of one of his citizens..."

Ludwig coughed after a moment, looking at Alfred. "We still have a mission to complete, ja?" he said as the others stirred, some, like Matthew, having completely forgotten about the mission before them. "I believe the Italy brothers will be able to answer your questions…"

Ivan glanced at Alfred for a moment before brushing his hair down and covering the stigma on his head. A strange emotion danced in the Russian's eyes before glancing at the others. "Then we should hurry, at once," he said rather gruffly as the other exorcists nodded. The nations were hesitant, but finally Arthur agreed, provided that Alfred would stay inside a carriage or something, to keep him out of view.

Kiku supported his friend into the carriage the next day, a sad frown on his face. Alfred had rescued him from a certain fate, and in return, accidentally awakened the beast within and now was the one on the edge. And he was so young…

Kiku, Ivan, Arthur and Alfred were inside the carriage, Matthew opting to stay and drive the carriage while Yao walked along with Lenalee and the other exorcists. Allen was still bewildered at what happened, at the song calling back Alfred from near death.

Inside the carriage, Ivan sat across from Alfred, eyes gazing outwards, towards the green fields of Germany and towards the blue skies. Alfred's head was in Arthur's lap as the boy slept on, sometimes mumbling nonsense under his breath.

"Take good care of the brat, ja?" Gilbert had said with a fierce look on his face. "I didn't help kick ass for his freedom just for some damn Noah to snatch it away from under him."

Arthur stared at Alfred for a long moment before looking outside the carriage. It would be a long ride to Italy…

Kanda glanced at Allen who was still mulling over the Musician's song before knocking the other on the head rather harshly.

"OW!" Allen yelped. "What the hell was that for Kanda?"

Kanda glared at Allen, not bothering to apologize. "Get your head out of your ass for a second Beansprout, we still have a mission to complete."

Allen glared right back then punched the other in the arm. "Well I can't believe it!" he retorted. "The Musician's song was meant for the Ark, not for reviving people."

Lavi blinked at this before nodding. "You said you played that song to disconnect the Ark from Edo, right?" he asked as Allen nodded the curious look on his face again.

"…Maybe the 14th…Nea helped his family…" He frowned a little more. "But…Nea killed off his family and tried to kill the Earl…" **[2]**

Lenalee furrowed her brow, trying to think. "Maybe the 14th doesn't want family to die again…So he'll try to save them by recalling them with a familiar song."

Allen sighed, shaking his head. "No, I don't think so Lenalee…but for whatever reason, the song brought Mr. Jones back…" Actually, if he were honest, Nea, the 14th, hadn't stirred in a long time, ever since the return from Edo. That meant the song had just recalled Mr. Jones back from death's grip, without Nea's influence.

Maybe the Noah had been called back only for Alfred to resurface as the dominant personality. After all, Nea was the pianist before he became a traitor to the family. All of the Noah's memories would have had some sort of memory of the Pianist right? Even if they were reborn, a lingering part of them would remember…

The British boy pouted a little then looked up towards the blue sky. Or maybe Master Cross hadn't told him everything about the score…And Mana either.

_Mana…_

Allen shook his head.

Whatever it was, it just added on another mystery on the growing pile of mysteries yet solved. Lavi was furiously scribbling away at his new book that he had bought in Germany, wanting to show the Bookman just what he had found out. He would probably be documenting this new mystery…

Allen tilted his head up and stared at the sky above him. What would await for them in Italy…?

Almost as if answering his question, his golem began to insistently hit at his face, wings pounding for attention. "Timcampi?" the exorcist sputtered as the others glanced at him. "What is it?"

Lenalee blinked as her own golem began to react. "It's a message," she noted as Lavi looked around for a phone of some sort to use. Luckily they were passing through a small town which had a very convenient phone right there. Clipping his golem to the phone line and making sure he had a secure line, he grinned, beginning to talk.

"Yo Komui!" At that, Lavi fell silent, listening to what Komui had to say. His face split into a grin, nodding. "It's gonna be crowded, but we could always use the company to Italy! So General Tiedoll and Reever are coming out to join us?"

Kanda let loose a loud groan, not missed by Kiku who hid an inappropriate laugh in his sleeve.

"And Miranda's in Italy already? Are you just sending the entire Order after us?" Lavi asked with a laugh as Allen and Lenalee exchanged excited looks at one of their friends joining them.

Lavi's expression fell as he motioned the exorcists closer to listen. "Central knows about who we're traveling with?" he asked quietly as Komui on the other end of the line nodded slowly.

"I don't know what exactly that entails for your traveling companions Lavi, but what I do know is that means every one of them is in potential danger," the Chinese man spoke firmly, having hidden himself away from his secretary from Central. "I want people from the Black Order around them at all times…We may be fighting the Earl in the end, but Central's methods are dangerous…You and I know that."

Kanda's scowl deepened as Komui let loose a sigh. "The rest of the exorcists, generals including, are all off on their own missions. I can't send too many people your way, but I want to make sure the four of you and the others are safe."

Lavi chuckled briefly at that and nodded. "So essentially, this is now top priority for the Black Order?" he asked, eye narrowed as Komui laughed as well.

"Basically, yes. I didn't realize how important this was until I caught word that Central was tracking your moves ever since you left America," he replied as the others glanced at each other. Allen mouthed Renee as Kanda's scowl deepened at the mention of her.

"I just wanted to let you four know what was going on…" Komui said as Lavi passed the phone to Lenalee who smiled brightly, taking it.

"It'll be alright Brother," she said soothingly. "Thank you for worrying about us."

Komui nearly cried with relief, babbling something about how much he missed Lenalee and how she had to come home soon safe. Lenalee soon struck up a conversation with her older brother briefly before hanging up, glancing at the nations who were curiously glancing their way. Allen sighed then took a step up to Arthur, gray eyes matching green.

"Central knows," he said with a shake of his head. "It's like how Miss Im was talking about before, how they wanted to get rid of Mr. Honda by killing the nation itself."

Arthur's eyes widened as he stared at Alfred sleeping in his lap. "Then our mission to Italy is much more important than before. We need to talk with the Vargas brothers, to see what they know…"

Allen nodded, staring at Alfred who stirred slightly. "They wouldn't hesitate taking Alfred prisoner," he said softly as Ivan growled threateningly, a malice filled grin on his face.

"They will have to get through me first…" he growled as Arthur glanced at him, frowning.

"Since when are you so concerned about Alfred's welfare?" the Briton asked as Ivan shook his head.

"…We are friends. I would hope so at least, da? Even if he is a brat at times, I will not let humans tamper with our kind," he replied firmly, purple eyes narrowed.

Lenalee waved her hands to alleviate the tension. "Let's continue on…there are our friends waiting for us. I'm sure everything will be alright!"

The rest of the nations glanced at each other before Matthew replied with a small smile and a nod. "You're right Lenalee…we can't just give up yet, oui?" he responded softly as he glanced at Alfred, who stirred again, but this time, his eyes opened, much to the surprise of everyone around him.

It was as if...As if he just knew when to wake up, when to make his heroic entrance back into the story. Blue eyes searching the crowd of people around him, Alfred closed his eyes for a moment, as he was about to fall asleep before opening them again.

He smiled softly.

"…M' back…jus' like a hero…right on time."

* * *

**IT'S BEEN A YEAR. HI GUYS. I REALLY SUCK.**

**No seriously, I take a year off and I have no idea what the hell I'm doing ahahah. It's like my writing just sucks even more so then before. **

**Confusing plot twists galore! At least I explain what happened to Alfred in the meanwhile. But yes, everything will be explained! Thank you for sticking with me through this confusing journey. I swear, the next update won't be next year. =_=**

**[1]: Russia actually had ships helping the Union during the Civil War, both at the San Francisco Bay and New York. This deterred Britain and France from helping the South, this is because the South is a huge exporter of Europe's cotton, and helped America win the Civil War. **

**[2]: It's stated in the later chapters of DGM that the Fourteenth wanted control as the Adam of the Noah family. Because of this, he killed all of the Noah family besides Road and the Earl. Most of the Noah don't remember this, but I took a little liberty in saying that they still at least remember the piano piece, since in the Edo Arc, the Earl was seen playing a piano. **


End file.
